A'rafi's claim of friendship with Christians, in the shadow of decades of repression and imprisonment

When the government is accused of arresting, torturing, and confiscating the property of Christians in Iran, writing letters to defend Christians seems more like a political effort for survival than empathy.

As military tensions between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a coalition of the United States and Israel reach an unprecedented level, a senior official in the Islamic Republic has attempted to appeal to the world's Christian leaders for support, a move that stands in stark contrast to the Iranian government's decades-long history of dealing with the Christian community.

According to published reports, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, the director of the seminaries and a senior official in the Islamic Republic, has written a letter to Pope Leo XIV, asking him to condemn the recent military attacks against Iran. In the letter, he referred to the attack that occurred on February 28, 2026 (Esfand 9, 1404) and claimed that Ali Khamenei, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, was killed along with a number of his associates.

In this letter, Aarafi wrote: "With a heart full of sorrow and a soul hurt by the severity of oppression and cruelty, I am writing this message to Your Excellency in a situation where the Iranian nation and the Shiite world are plunged into great and unprecedented mourning. The pen fails to write and the tongue fails to speak, but the human and religious duty demands that the cry of a nation's oppression reach the ears of the world (especially spiritual leaders who call for peace and justice).

As you know, in the early hours of Saturday, Esfand 9, 1404 (February 28, 2026), America and the usurping Zionist regime, in a diabolical alliance, committed a major and unprecedented crime against the independent and Islamic country of Iran.

In this cowardly aggression that made a mockery of all international laws and humanitarian principles, His Highness Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the supreme authority of the Shiite world and the wise leader of the Islamic Revolution, was martyred by the enemy while performing his duty in his office in Tehran, along with a group of his friends and family members. He was a staunch supporter of the rights of minorities, especially Christians in Iran.

But this cowardly assassination was not just a simple war crime. The deliberate targeting of the highest religious authority of a religion with several hundred million followers, whom nearly two billion Muslims in the world also held in special respect, is an unprecedented crime in the history of religions and a clear insult to all followers of divine religions. It opens a new "door of audacity" by which any tyrannical power may consider the life of any spiritual leader as its legitimate target in the future!

Certainly, what caused the threats against the life of this great authority over the past few decades was the full-throated and fearless defense of the oppressed Palestinian people and the courageous resistance of the people of Gaza against genocide and occupation; an issue that Your Excellency has repeatedly and explicitly condemned and called a clear example of the killing of innocents.

On the other hand, simultaneously with this attack, the aggressor regime, in a heartbreaking and unforgettable act that shook the conscience of humanity, targeted a girls' elementary school in the city of Minab with aerial bombardment. In this horrific crime, nearly 170 innocent students between the ages of 8 and 12 were reduced to dust and blood.

The images of the bodies of these little angels, their bags and shoes left under the rubble, pain the heart of every free person. Today, defending the children of Minab, like the children of Gaza, is a moral, religious, and human responsibility for all of us to prevent the repetition of these tragedies against children.

As the leader of Catholic Christians and the standard-bearer of interfaith dialogue and world peace, you have always been a defender of the oppressed and a herald of human dignity. Today, the peace-loving and religious nation of Iran is in a life-threatening calamity, visible and visible to the awakened consciences of the world.

"The Holy See, as an independent religious and moral institution, is expected to loudly condemn these heinous crimes, which are clear examples of "war crimes," "crimes against humanity," and "the audacity of religious leaders," and deny the connection of this crime with the loving teachings of Christianity."

But what has surprised many observers is Aarafi's claim about Ali Khamenei's position in supporting religious minorities. He wrote in the letter that Khamenei has been a strong supporter of minority rights, especially Christians in Iran, a claim that is inconsistent with numerous reports by human rights organizations about the situation of Christians in Iran.

According to reports by human rights organizations and organizations defending religious freedom, the Islamic Republic has pursued a systematic policy of restricting the activities of Christians, especially Christian converts, since the 1979 revolution. In many cases, Christian religious activities have been met with charges such as “acting against national security” or “propaganda against the system,” and possession of a Bible has been considered a criminal offense.

Reports indicate that leaders and members of house churches are often targeted for arrest and prosecution, and even attending these gatherings can result in several years in prison. In some cases, running or organizing these gatherings has resulted in up to ten years in prison.

There have also been numerous reports of arrests and convictions of Christians in recent years. For example, in 2024, several Christian citizens were sentenced to long prison terms, while others were arrested simply for religious activity or attending house churches.

According to other reports, in 2024 alone, dozens of Christians in Iran were sentenced to a total of more than 250 years in prison, a figure that indicates the escalating pressure on this religious community.

Reports also indicate that hundreds of Christians have been arrested in recent years for their religious activities, and many Persian-language churches have been closed, forcing many Christians to meet in their homes and in secret.

In such circumstances, Arafah's letter to the leader of the world's Catholics to garner support for Iran is a reminder of a serious contradiction for many observers. The institution he heads, the seminaries, is considered one of the most important ideological centers of the regime, and many of the ideological and judicial forces working on cases related to religious minorities are trained within this structure.

In recent decades, there have been numerous reports of security forces raiding house churches, arresting priests, confiscating property, and pressuring other Christians to convert to Islam. This has led many Iranian Christians to flee the country and seek asylum outside Iran.

In addition, in this letter, he speaks of an attack on a school in Minab, while in the past two months, as a result of nationwide protests, many underage children have been directly targeted by the regime's repressive forces and have lost their lives, and even many children between the ages of 12 and 17 have been arrested and imprisoned. (It should be noted that, according to investigations and published analytical reports, the attack on the Minab school was not carried out by Israel or the United States, but rather the missile in question was a KH55, an old Soviet weapon belonging to Iran, which fell on the Minab school.)

In such a context, the desperate attempt to introduce the leader of the Islamic Republic as a "protector of Christian rights" is seen as an attempt to rebuild the government's image internationally, rather than a reflection of reality.

Especially in a situation where the Islamic Republic is facing widespread political and military crises, the request for support from the world's Christian leaders could be a sign of an effort to gain international legitimacy.

From the perspective of many critics, this action is an example of a dual policy: a policy that has been accompanied by restrictions, arrests, and pressure against Christians domestically, but is presented in the global arena with a rhetoric based on "human dignity" and "support for minorities."

Ultimately, the question remains: Can the claim of defending Christians be accepted by a government that has been accused of suppressing Christians, closing churches, and imprisoning Christian activists for decades?