EXCLUSIVE: UNDERGROUND CHURCH PLEADS FOR PRAYER AS CORONAVIRUS SPREADS IN IRAN

People walking in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar wear protective masks to prevent contracting the virus (Credit: Nazanin Tabatabaee, WANA via Reuters)

For the third time in the past six months, Iranians are taking to the streets as news of a coronavirus outbreak was reported in the world press. What had previously been acknowledged by the regime as only a few confirmed infections has proven to be grossly under-reported, as the Iranian Ministry of Health now admits that there are at least 200 confirmed cases in over 50 Iranian cities, causing at least six deaths so far. The actual number of cases is estimated to be 800, or even into the thousands. Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan have all closed their border crossings with Iran in an attempt to contain the spread of the deadly disease.

The timing of the Iranian government’s admission of the spread of the virus inside its borders is highly suspect, coming only one day after nationwide elections were held. It is now clear that authorities in the Islamic Republic have been aware of the spread of the disease in Iran for many days, but chose to conceal that knowledge in order to increase voter turnout at the polls. In the interim, the human cost of their misinformation campaign has been massive, as the disease has potentially been transmitted to thousands of Iranians across the country during its incubation period. This is the second time that the regime has lied to the public about a deadly event, after previously claiming that a civilian airliner had been downed by mechanical failure on 8 January of this year. Four days later, it was proven by photographic evidence that the Iranian military accidentally shot down the plane, killing all 176 people aboard.

The Wire spoke with a representative of the Iranian underground church yesterday. Our source described a dire situation that is already having major ramifications for the Iranian public. “[The government] might cancel school and university until April. We’re all wearing masks.”

Besides the general impact of the outbreak in Iran, our source also described its frustrating effect on the congregations they oversee in the disciple-making movement. “The teams stopped the house churches…everything is on stop until we figure out what’s going on with the virus.”

The coronavirus is the latest in a string of monumental challenges for the Iranian church. Our source is pleading with the global Body of Christ to make intercession “We need your prayers right now…pray for protection…[It’s] another wrench in the system…every time we try to move forward, something out of our hands happens…Pray for us, that we don’t get discouraged.”

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Click here to learn more about FAI’s work with the underground church in Iran, and how you can engage them with us.

February 23, 2020

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