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Shahin Sadeghzadeh Milanee

In recent years, economic pressure has had a significant impact on the Baha’i community in Iran. Baha’is, who are deprived of government jobs and access to higher education, have also faced the closure of their businesses. The sealing of these businesses is often done under the pretext of Baha’i shops being closed during their religious holidays. However, this action is not legally justified. According to the executive regulations for the temporary closure of businesses, the trade union is only allowed to temporarily close a business if it remains closed for more than fifteen days without a valid reason, and if its closure causes inconvenience to consumers (Article 1, paragraph 2). Baha’is have only 9 days of religious holidays in a year, and only 2 of those days – the birthdays of the Bab and Baha’u’llah – are celebrated consecutively. Therefore, no religious holiday lasts more than fifteen days for Baha’is. Recently, minutes from meetings of the Mazand

The sealing of Baha’i businesses has occurred in various cities in Iran and across a wide range of industries. In April 2017, the premises of 18 Baha’i citizens in Shahin Shahr were sealed by the Office of Properties. Among the sealed businesses were an electronics repair shop, a tire shop, a sewing machine store, a clothing store, a stationery store, a toy store, and a dried fruit store. The number and diversity of sealed businesses indicate a clear plan to pressure the Baha’i community. In November 2014, 79 Baha’i shops in Kerman, Rafsanjan, and Jiroft were also sealed by the government.

It should be noted that economic pressure has been imposed on the Bahai community due to the biased religious beliefs of some Shia clerics. For example, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has stated that trading with Bahais is not permissible. Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has also stated in a fatwa: “Avoid any interaction with this misguided sect.”

The general policy of the Islamic Republic system has been explained in the secret resolution of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution in 1990. According to this resolution, which has been approved by the leader of the Islamic Republic, Baha’is are prohibited from studying at universities and having important jobs. The resolution states: “The system’s approach towards them should be in a way that their progress and development is blocked.” However, the resolution also states: “Providing them with means of livelihood within the customary limits that are available to all members of the nation.” This means that while Baha’is are deprived of government jobs, they are allowed to have regular jobs in the private sector in order to sustain their lives. However, it is also mentioned in this resolution that Baha’is should not be given “effective jobs”.

Recent pressures on trade unions have gone beyond the provisions of the 1369 secret resolution. Although thousands of government jobs were eliminated in the early years of the revolution, their ban from normal business activities in the private sector was not widespread. The recent pressures imposed on Bahá’ís are different from before and indicate the government’s intention to make conditions more difficult for these Iranian citizens. The implementation of this policy in various parts of Iran, including Semnan, Mazandaran, Shahin Shahr Isfahan, and Kerman, shows that this issue goes beyond the decisions of local officials and is a national plan. One motivation for these pressures may be to encourage Bahá’ís to leave Iran. Every year, a considerable number of Bahá’ís leave Iran and migrate to other countries. Although the Islamic Republic initially refrained from issuing passports to Bahá’ís, this policy changed in the early 1970s and Bahá’ís were able to legally leave Iran. With

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The legal manager of the Iranian Center for Human Rights Documents.