Eleven UN experts have sent an official communication to Iran, expressing concern at “serious human rights violations” committed during and since the conflict with Israel.

The experts, including the Special Rapporteur (SR) on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Mai Sato, and the SR on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, sent the communication on 3 July, but it has only been published today, 60 days later, in accordance with UN protocols.

In it, the rapporteurs highlight the recent arrests of members of religious and other minorities, whom they say face “intensified risk of being scapegoated at this time of heightened political pressure”.

The arrests, they warn, “may be in violation article 2 of the ICCPR [International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights] and article 2 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination … which prohibit discrimination and guarantee equal protection under the law, regardless of race, religion and belief, or national origin”.

The rapporteurs also note a “sharp increase in reported hate speech … accusing whole minority communities of being traitors, using dehumanising language such as ‘filthy rats’, and implicating them in the hostilities”.

The communication references the newly proposed parliamentary bill, which would “expand the scope of the death penalty by criminalising a broad range of activities, including political, culture, media and economic actions that support, reinforce legimitise, or strength Israel”.

It also notes that the head of the judiciary in Iran “reportedly instructed prosecutors to pursue quick proceedings against those accused of collaboration with Israel” … a “position [that] has been reflected in official State media … which on 24 June 2025 asserted that judicial procedures were ‘not necessary in times of war’”.

The rapporteurs say such rhetoric and measures have “contributed to growing alarm – particularly among the families of detainees and minorities”. 

They also cite reports that prisoners were transferred from Evin Prison to “overcrowded” and “unsanitary” facilities, while the “fate and whereabouts of some detainees … [remained] unknown”.

The experts call on the Iranian authorities to respond to the allegations by providing information including on “the number, nationalities and identities of individuals detained since 13 June 2025 on accusations of collaboration or espionage with Israel” and the reason “why ethnic and religious minorities … seem to be disproportionately impacted by the arrests”.

The communication comes after Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence admitted to arresting at least 53 Christians since the end of the conflict with Israel, while state media accused them of engaging in “espionage” in what Article18’s director, Mansour Borji, described as a “clear example of hate speech”.

Several Christians were also among those transferred from Evin Prison to other facilities in the Tehran region following the strike on the prison, and while some have since been returned to Evin, the female prisoners remain in Qarchak, while not all male prisoners have been accounted for.

You can read the full communication here.