For forty years, Iran’s government has wasted vast stores of human potential by violating the rights of their citizens and especially by persecuting the Baha’i community – starting with executions in the 1980s and leading to economic strangulation and apartheid today.

Baha’is are Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. More than 200 were killed after the Revolution, hundreds have been arbitrarily detained, and state media and leading clerics routinely spread hate speech against the Baha’is.

Violence and dehumanization soon extended to economic discrimination. The intention is clear: to undermine the very existence of the Baha’i community. A 1991 memorandum signed by the Supreme Leader bears this out – as do the experiences of the Baha’is. The evidence is documented on our Archives of Baha’i Persecution in Iran website.

Dozens of Baha’i-owned businesses have been forcibly closed in recent years. This denies livelihoods to business-owners, employees, and hundreds of families who depend on these incomes. Young Baha’is are also barred from attending university. And all Baha’is are hindered from contributing to the economic and social life of Iran.

The latest injustice seals the deal. A new national ID card requires applicants to state a religion, listing only Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Judaism. Basic activities like financial or property transactions, applying for basic services and many other tasks are impossible without it. Baha’is will not lie about their identity – meaning they are denied ID cards and are excluded from the fundamentals of life.

We call on Iran’s leaders to immediately stop this latest attack and to instead focus on the wellbeing of their people.