On On the escalating repression of Baha’is in Iran

B100541/2025

European Parliament resolution on On the escalating repression of Baha’is in Iran

(2025/2987(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on the Islamic Republic of Iran,

– having regard to Rules 150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas Baha’is are Iran’s largest unrecognised religious minority facing state-backed persecution since the 19th century;

whereas international organizations including Human Rights Watch conclude that the systematic repression of Baha’is represents crime against humanity of persecution, involving arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, property confiscation, education and employment denial, and refusal of dignified burial; whereas Baha’is, alongside other religious minorities in Iran, Muslim and non-Muslim, are frequently imprisoned without due process and with their whereabouts unknown;

whereas the 1991 memorandum of the Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council outlines state policy expelling Baha’is from jobs and to “block their progress” by restricting their educational, social and economic opportunities; whereas additional policies lead to shutting down of Baha’i-owned businesses and confiscation of hundreds of Baha’i properties, causing economic strangulation of the community;

whereas the Iranian government has for years engaged in a mass state-sponsored campaign to incite hatred and violence against the Baha’is; whereas several weeks ago, the government has confiscated the livelihoods of the Baha’is in Isfahan, in a gross misuse of Article 49 of the Iranian Constitution; whereas at least 35 Baha’is have been arrested, detained, sentenced, or imprisoned since the beginning of September 2025, marking a clear escalation in the Iranian authorities’ persecution of the community;

whereas many violations concerning religious minorities in Iran in recent years explicitly targeted Baha’i women including Leila Adalati and Nahid Behrouzi, as well as six other women sentenced on grounds of “organizing illegal Baha’i classes and groups”; whereas many men including Afshin Heyratian und Farhad Fahandej were also targeted;

Strongly condemns the Iranian authorities’ systematic persecution of Baha’is and women in particular; urges them to recognize Baha’is as a religious minority, to end all discriminatory policies and guarantee them full legal and constitutional protection;

Calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all Baha’i members held on bogus charges, to halt the confiscation of Baha’i property, return them to their rightful owners, provide restitutions to those victimized and to repeal discriminatory policies denying Baha’is access to education, employment and pensions;

Calls on the EU and its Member States to impose targeted human-rights sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, on Iranian judges, prosecutors and intelligence officials credibly implicated in the persecution of Baha’is;

Reiterates its call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organisation and extend EU sanctions on its members.

Emphasises that EU-Iran engagements must be founded on tangible progress on democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the release of all political, religious and other prisoners of conscience;

Calls on the EU to strengthen its monitoring of religious freedom in Iran and provide support to civil society documenting the situation;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Government of Iran, the VP/HR, the Commission, the Member States and the United Nations.