For years, social media accounts linked to the Iranian authorities – including those of embassies around the world – have been used to present a particular narrative, including that Christians have “no problems” in Iran.

In our 2026 annual report, we noted how a metro station in Tehran named after the Virgin Mary was warmly welcomed by state media last year, with the words: “Anyone who believes that religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran face pressure and lack freedom in practising their rituals will be surprised to witness this event, certainly.”

And now, while the vast majority of Iranians continue to be deprived of access to the Internet, analysis by BBC Persian has highlighted a huge spike in engagement during the conflict for the X accounts of Iran’s 130 embassies, with one embassy – in South Africa – receiving as many as 2 million likes and retweets in just one day (5 April).

And among the popular posts, in what has been a campaign clearly targeted at the outside world, given that X is banned in Iran and that most Iranians remain shut off from the Internet, have been posts of a religious nature, which have seemed to target Western Christians in particular.

Posts about the metro station and the presence of historic churches in Iran have continued to appear across regime-affiliated accounts over the past two months, alongside others about the Pope; the desecration of a statue of Jesus by an IDF solder; a funeral for an Iranian-Armenian Christian killed in the war; memorial services held in Iranian churches for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; and even some quotes from the Bible.

As an example, here are a set of posts from the top-five performing embassies since the beginning of the war, according to the BBC Persian investigation:

Article18’s director, Mansour Borji, commented: “Alongside other propaganda efforts during the conflict, there has been a concerted attempt to dissuade public support for the strikes against the regime by presenting the Islamic Republic as benevolent and protective towards Christians in the country.

“Yet the truth is that the vast majority of Christians in Iran today – converts from Muslim backgrounds – aren’t even allowed to enter the historic churches of the Armenian and Assyrian minorities and face arrest simply for gathering together to pray and worship in their homes.

“Since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Christians have been systematically and often brutally suppressed; their leaders have been killed; their churches have been closed; and hundreds have been arrested on charges related only to the peaceful outworking of their faith. 

“Many Christians have spent years in prison as a result of these charges – at least 48 Christians are currently detained in Iran – while many more have fled the country and now live in exile.

“So, no, the Islamic Republic is neither benevolent nor protective towards Christians or other religious minorities.”