Iran International
Authorities in the central Iranian city of Isfahan have begun seizing homes and assets from members of the Bahá’í religious minority by text message—an unprecedented move a community spokesperson called “economic strangulation” that has mostly targeted women.
“This is the first time we know of that the government has used text messages to order confiscations,” Farhad Sabetan, spokesperson for the Baha’i International Community (BIC) told Iran International.
“What we are witnessing is nothing less than economic strangulation of the Baha’i community—families are deprived of their livelihoods overnight, without due process, without even a court order.”
Bahais constitute the largest religious minority in Iran and have faced systematic harassment and persecution since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Iran does not recognize the Baha’i faith as an official religion, unlike Christianity, Judaism, or Zoroastrianism. Authorities label it a “cult” with alleged foreign ties—charges its followers reject.
The BIC said the seizures included homes, vehicles, and other assets, carried out under Article 49 of Iran’s constitution, a clause designed to reclaim property gained through illicit activities such as theft or drug trafficking. In practice, Sabetan said, it is being misused “to plunder the possessions of citizens who have committed no crime other than being Baha’i.”
According to the BIC, families were ordered by text to present themselves to court or face arrest. Some later discovered blocked bank accounts, frozen business transactions, and restrictions on selling property. In several cases, court files were not recorded in Iran’s official judicial notification system, preventing defendants and their lawyers from reviewing them.
The confiscations come as Iranian authorities step up pressure on Baha’is, accusing them without evidence of spying for Israel. While thousands of Baha’i-owned properties have been seized since the 1979 revolution, rights groups say the new reliance on digital notices reflects a more brazen, impersonal stage of repression.
Sabetan said that the majority of those targeted in Isfahan are women—many engaged in teaching and community service. “It may not be coincidental,” he said. “After the Women, Life, Freedom movement, the government has been cracking down on women broadly. Now Baha’i women are being targeted in the same way—mothers and educators denied the ability to care for their families or live normal lives.”
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Baha’is account for more than 70 percent of all documented violations against religious minorities in Iran over the past three years. At least 284 Baha’is have been arrested in the past five years, receiving a combined 1,495 years in prison sentences.
“What the Iranian government is doing amounts to a gradual death sentence,” Sabetan said. “They may not execute Baha’is as they did in the early years of the revolution, but by stripping them of work, property, and dignity, they are trying to erase our community.”
