On the escalating repression of the Baha'is in Iran
B-10-2025-0531
on behalf of the PPE Group · Rapporteur: Sebastião Bugalho, Tomáš Zdechovský, Michael Gahler, David McAllister, Željana Zovko, Loucas Fourlas, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, Tomas Tobé, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Andrey Kovatchev, Danuše Nerudová, Ingeborg Ter Laak, Reinhold Lopatka, Wouter Beke, Inese Vaidere, Loránt Vincze, Liudas Mažylis, Jessica Polfjärd, Michał Wawrykiewicz
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This resolution condemns Iran's escalating persecution of the Baha'i community and calls for an immediate end to discrimination, detention, property confiscation, and other abuses.¶ It urges Iran to release all detained Baha'is, halt the death penalty, stop desecrating burial sites, and ensure equal access to education and property rights.¶¶¶ It calls on the EU and member states to raise the issue in dialogues and on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.¶¶
Key points
- Strongly condemns the escalating persecution of the Baha'is community and calls on Iran to immediately cease all discrimination, harassment, detention and property confiscation.¶
- Calls on Iran to immediately and unconditionally release all Baha'is detained on the basis of their faith, including the eleven women arrested in January 2025.¶
- Expresses deep concern over the disproportionate targeting of Baha'i women, who face both religious and gender-based persecution.¶
- Reiterates firm opposition to the death penalty and urges Iran to halt its use as a tool of political and religious repression.¶
- Condemns the desecration and obstruction of Baha'i burial sites and calls on Iran to guarantee the right to dignified burial and end interference in religious funeral practices.¶
- Urges Iran to abolish the discriminatory ban on university access and guarantee Baha'i students equal rights to education at all levels.¶
- Calls on Iran to halt the confiscation of Baha'i homes, businesses, and personal assets and to return all properties seized on religious grounds, condemning the November 2025 seizure in Isfahan.¶
- Reiterates the importance of upholding the Iranian people's democratic aspirations against the backdrop of the regime's oppressive measures.¶
- Calls on the EU and member states to consistently raise Baha'i persecution in all dialogue and prioritise religious freedom.¶
- Reiterates its call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organisation and to extend EU sanctions to all those responsible for human rights violations.¶
Who is affected
- The Baha'i community in Iran, including detained members, women, students, and families whose properties are seized.¶¶¶
- Iranian authorities, who are called upon to cease persecution, release detainees, and respect rights.¶¶¶
- The EU, member states, and the Council, who are urged to raise the issue and impose sanctions.¶¶
Figures and deadlines
- 300,000 members of the Baha'i community in Iran.¶
- Approximately 1,200 Baha'is face legal proceedings or imprisonment.¶
- Two-thirds of those detained are women.
- Eleven Baha'i women were arrested in January 2025.
- Ten Baha'i women in Isfahan received combined prison sentences amounting to 90 years in October 2024.¶
- More than 30 graves were destroyed in Rafsanjan.¶
- Properties of twelve Baha'i families were seized in Isfahan in November 2025.¶