{"id":57346,"date":"2026-01-27T14:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=57346"},"modified":"2026-01-24T14:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T05:45:39","slug":"vomk-report-383","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2026\/01\/27\/vomk-report-383\/","title":{"rendered":"IRAN: BOLDNESS ON THE STREETS IS NOTHING NEW FOR IRAN\u2019S UNDERGROUND CHRISTIANS"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57357″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Street demonstrations in Iran continue to grow, with casualties currently estimated at between 2,000 and 12,000 as growing numbers of civilians boldly confront police. While these protests arose from concerns about inflation, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley says Iran\u2019s underground Christians have been making a bold witness on the streets for years, but for a very different reason. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThe current protestors have understandably taken to the streets to stand up for their rights and economic interests,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cBut Iran\u2019s underground Christians have \u2018taken to the streets for years\u2019, not to protest in groups but rather to lay down their rights and sacrifice their own interests in order to share the gospel individually with their fellow Iranians. And the Christians have paid a high price for this, with many currently serving long sentences at Iran\u2019s infamous Evin Prison.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that even though evangelizing Muslims is a serious crime in Iran, Iran\u2019s underground Christians have risked their personal safety to do street evangelism for years, even during Covid.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57351″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”An Iranian Christian holds up a Bible over her city. (VOM file photo) ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cWhen the coronavirus pandemic began, an older Muslim couple, Aref and his wife, Liana, were obeying the government\u2019s lockdown orders and staying at home,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cBut one day they went out to get some fresh air in a local park. A man came up to them and talked to them briefly about God and gave them a Bible.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]She says the couple did not think much about the encounter and simply put the Bible on a bookshelf when they returned home. But eight months later, Aref had a dream.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cIn the dream he heard a voice saying, \u2018I will reveal the true way to you. You will find Me there,\u2019\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cWhen Aref woke up, he remembered the man who had given him the Bible, so he went to the bookshelf and retrieved it.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that after reading some scriptures in the Bible, Aref returned to the first page and found contact information for the man who had given it to him. \u201cHe called the number and asked about his dream and about God. Imagine the risk the Christian took to talk to the couple, give them a Bible, and even put his contact information in it. He was literally laying down his life for strangers.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that in addition to street evangelism, Iranian underground Christians go to neighborhoods and put Bibles in each mailbox.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57354″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”An Iranian Christian shares a Christian resource with a friend on a public bench. (VOM file photo) ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cOne Iranian woman, Fareena, told Voice of the Martyrs that she secretly became a Christian but had hidden her faith for two years because she worried about being beaten or even turned over to the police by her family,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cBut one day Fareena went to the living room in her house and saw her father sitting on the floor reading a Bible. When she asked her father what he was doing, he told her, \u2018I am reading an amazing book that I found in the mailbox today.\u2019 It turned out that Iranian Christians had gone house to house, placing Bibles in all the mailboxes with notes saying the book was a gift for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that not only did the mailbox Bible lead her father to accept Christ, it also included contact information that Fareena and her father used to find a house church they could join.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says she believes it is important for Christians in the rest of the world to understand the story of Iranian underground Christians when they read news reports on the current protests. \u201cWe should not think that these protests may \u2018open the door\u2019 for the gospel to spread in Iran,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThe gospel has been spreading in Iran for years! Many researchers believe that more people may be coming to Christ in Iran than anywhere else in the world.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says she believes Christians in the rest of the world often have the wrong idea that the Christians in Iran must be hiding and hoping for a regime change so that they can be Christian openly. \u201cThe truth is, Iranian Christians have never gone into hiding. They have been in the streets for years\u2014not protesting for their rights but making a bold witness for Christ. They are not waiting for greater political freedom so that they can share the gospel. They have freedom in Christ, and they have used this freedom to evangelize, even when it has resulted in them being sent to prison. So we can pray for the protests, but we should remember that whatever happens, God is not dependent on economic protests or regime changes in order for his word to reach the world.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Individuals interested in learning more about the work of Iranian underground Christians can visit Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s country profile on Iran at https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/country-profile\/IRAN\/<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57357″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Street demonstrations in Iran continue to grow, with casualties currently estimated at between 2,000 and 12,000 as growing numbers of civilians boldly confront police. While these …","protected":false},"author":1959,"featured_media":57358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[235,84,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-column","category-middle-east","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57346"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57634,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57346\/revisions\/57634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}