Islamic Republic has increased convictions and executions of minorities, including Iranian Jews, a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom finds
Iran is increasing its efforts to carry out attacks against Jewish targets in Europe, as well as ramping up its persecution of minority religions, including Jews, within the Islamic Republic, according to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Following the 12-day military conflict in June between Iran and the United States and Israel, Iranian authorities have increased arrests, executions, and discriminatory policies against minorities like Baha’is, Jews, Christians, Sufis, and Sunnis and other non-Shi’a Muslim groups, according to the report, released Tuesday.
The government is also engaging local proxies in Europe, such as the Foxtrot and Rumba gangs in Sweden, and other criminal networks in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Belgium, to target Jews and Jewish sites in those countries, it said.
The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard“The government of Iran remains an egregious violator of freedom of religion or belief,” the report found.
Religious persecution inside Iran had already increased dramatically since riots broke out in September 2022, when Mahsa Amini died while under police custody after her arrest for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law.
Following its brief war with Israel in June 2025, Iran’s top judicial chief ordered prosecutors to fast-track trials and impose even harsher penalties for such charges, as a way to crack down on purported espionage or collaboration with Israel and the United States, the report said.
Regarding the approximately 8,500 Jews living in Iran, the government demonizes them as enemies of Islam, denies the Holocaust, surveils Jewish houses of worship, and intimidates community members through “Jews-only” polling stations, USCIRF said. Jews are coerced into supporting the government and are held collectively responsible for Israeli military actions, it said.
According to the report, government leaders, state media, and pro-regime clerics frequently use antisemitic tropes, including the idea that Jews are “sub-human, deviant infidels.”
Holocaust denial is rampant among government officials and state-run media, and the state hosts an annual Holocaust cartoon competition.
In March of this year, individuals reportedly affiliated with the paramilitary Basij organization and Hezbollah engaged in intimidating expression at the entrance of the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, a Jewish religious site. The country’s chief rabbi, Yehuda Gerami, was seen on video reading from the Book of Esther and dancing with students for the Purim holiday that same month.
Meanwhile, attacks on Jewish targets have continued overseas. In one incident in January, Iran paid a reported $200,000 to a Georgian drug trafficker to assassinate a rabbi in Azerbaijan in a plot that was ultimately foiled. In July 2025, Danish authorities arrested a man recruited by Iranian intelligence authorities to gather information on Jewish targets in Germany. Days later, British authorities reported Iranian efforts to activate proxy cells to kill or kidnap Jewish individuals in the UK.
The Islamic Republic is actively recruiting gangs throughout Europe, particularly in Sweden, to carry out further attacks on Israeli embassies and Jewish sites, the report said.
Iran is also spreading antisemitism online and through official foreign media channels, it found. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network uses Spanish-language media to promote antisemitic myths, including Jewish power over Hollywood and Holocaust revisionism.
In addition to its attacks against Jews, the USCIRF report found that Iranian authorities continue to severely repress women by violently enforcing mandatory hijab laws, using surveillance technology, detentions, and public floggings to punish dissent.
Christians, especially converts from Islam, are frequently imprisoned, denied medical care, and accused of promoting “Zionist Christianity,” while church leaders face harsh sentences and renewed charges.
Sunni Muslims, Iran’s largest minority, are subjected to executions, mosque raids, and public vilification, particularly after clerical dissent. Other minorities like Baha’is, Sufis, spiritualists, and Sikhs also face imprisonment, torture, and systemic discrimination without constitutional protections.
The USCIRF concluded that Iran’s campaign of religious repression and global antisemitism requires its continued designation as a “country of particular concern” by the US Department of State. The report called for increased international pressure, sanctions, and support for persecuted religious minorities.
