Persecution of Bahá'ís
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Bahá'ís#Iran
The 1979 Islamic Revolution has refocused the persecutions against the Bahá'í Faith. Amnesty International and others report that 202 Baháís have been killed since the Islamic Revolution (see below),[20] with many more imprisoned, expelled from schools and workplaces, denied various benefits or denied registration for their marriages.[2] Additionally, several Baháí holy sites were destroyed in the revolution's aftermath, including the house of the Báb in Shiraz, the house of Bahá'u'lláh at Takur (in Mazandaran), and the house of Muhammad-Ali Barfurushi (Quddús) in Tehran.[2]
The Islamic Republic has often stated that arrested Baha'is are being detained for "security issues" and are members of "an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular," [21] but according to Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, "the best proof" that Bahais are being persecuted for their faith, not for anti-Iranian activity "is the fact that, time and again, Baha'is have been offered their freedom if they recant their Baha'i beliefs and convert to Islam ..." [21]
During the Iranian revolution attacks against the Bahá'ís increased. In 1979 Hojjatiyeh members took over the Bahá'í National Centre in Tehran and other cities and expelled staff and seized personnel files and membership lists.[22] These files were later used by Hojjatiyeh including sending flyers in the mail warning Bahá'ís of the consequences of continuing to believe in the Bahá'í beliefs.[22] Also, once again, there were reports of mob attacks, arson, and deaths and murders against the Bahá'ís across Iran; twenty-two Bahá'í cemeteries as well as hundreds of Bahá'í homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.[10] During December 1978 in Sarvestan, a city south of Shiraz, it was reported that several hundred Bahá'í houses were set on fire, and more than 1,000 Bahá'ís were left homeless.[23] Reports of the attacks suggest that they were not spontaneous, but that they were initiated by the military government appointed by the Shah, that SAVAK provided the addresses for Bahá'ís, and when the army showed up they did not take action to prevent the fires from spreading.[10] Further attacks happened throughout the country including Bahá'ís who would not recant being fired at and having their homes destroyed; the violence continued even after the Shah fled Iran.[10]
