"Israel is preparing to Commit Genocide"

Iranian pastor begins ten-year sentence in Evin Prison

29 September 2023

Please pray for Pastor Avedian, an Iranian-Armenian pastor, as he begins his sentence in Evin Prison.



R
Rebecca
Open Doors Team


In addition to his prison sentence, Pastor Avedian also faces a further ten years of ‘deprivation of social rights’

Anooshavan Avedian, an Iranian-Armenian pastor, has begun his ten-year sentence in prison.

Pastor Avedian (61) was sentenced more than a year ago, but wasn’t summoned to serve his sentence until last week when he was visited by two officers from the Ministry of Intelligence. Coincidentally, the visit took place the same day Pastor Joseph Shahbazian was released from Evin Prison.

Threats made by police to ‘forcibly transport’ him to prison
Pastor Avedian’s ordeal began over three years ago when he was arrested during a raid on his home, alongside two Christian converts, Soori and Mohammadi, who received non-custodial sentences. In addition to his decade-long prison term, Avedian also faces a further ten years of ‘deprivation of social rights’ after his eventual release. Despite all three Christians applying for a retrial with the Supreme Court, their requests were summarily rejected.

Avedian’s lawyer revealed that his client faced the summons without any prior notice of the legal procedure, a development which raised concerns about the violation of due process and the use of security pressure. The lawyer further explained that the officers who visited Avedian threatened to forcibly handcuff and transport him to prison if he refused to comply.

Religious freedom in Iran continues to be curtailed
As Avedian begins his prison term, concerns about religious freedom and the arbitrary nature of justice continue to loom large within Iran's legal system. Earlier this month (September), Joseph Shahbazian – who was initially sentenced to ten years in Evin Prison for his involvement in a house church – was freed. Let us pray that the Iranian authorities will relent and free Pastor Avedian too.

PLEASE PRAY

• That Pastor Avedian and his family will know Jesus’ presence close to them as his sentence begins
• That the charges against him will be dropped, and he will be freed
• For fresh courage and hope for the church in Iran that God champions the victims of injustice.

https://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/latest-news/iran-pastor-avedian/

 

Iran leader says Israel a ‘cancerous tumor’ to be destroyed

1 of 3 | In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses in a televised speech marking the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, May 22, 2020. Khamenei on Friday called Israel a “cancerous tumor” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed” in an annual speech in support of the Palestinians, renewing threats against Iran’s Mideast enemy. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

2 of 3 | In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses in a televised speech marking the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, May

3 of 3 | In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses in a televised speech marking the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, May 22, 2020. Khamenei on Friday called Israel a “cancerous tumor” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed” in an annual speech in support of the Palestinians, renewing threats against Iran’s Mideast enemy. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
BY AMIR VAHDAT AND JON GAMBRELL
Published 12:01 PM BRT, May 22, 2020
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader on Friday called Israel a “cancerous tumor” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed” in an annual speech in support of the Palestinians, renewing threats against Iran’s archenemy in the Middle East.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech marked a subdued Quds Day for Iran, which typically sees government-encouraged mass demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere in the Islamic Republic, as well as Iranian-allied nations. “Al-Quds” is the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Iran largely asked demonstrators to stay home.

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Khamenei spoke to the nation in a 30-minute speech aired on state television, a rare address by the supreme leader as other officials in the past gave the keynote speech. He repeatedly referred to Israel as a “cancer” or “tumor” during the speech, criticizing the U.S. and the West for equipping it with “various kinds of military and non-military tools of power, even with atomic weapons.”

“The Zionist regime is a deadly, cancerous growth and a detriment to this region,” Khamenei said. “It will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed.”




Iran under the U.S.-allied Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had relations with Israel. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the first Quds Day be held on the last Friday of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to criticize Israel. The late Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat was among the first people invited to Iran after the revolution.

Today, Iran and Israel remain enemies and Israel is believed to be behind airstrikes targeting Iranian forces in Syria. Iran meanwhile supports the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Responding to Khamenei, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that “whoever threatens Israel with destruction puts himself in similar danger.”

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Khamenei also compared Israel to the coronavirus during the speech, while saying his anti-Israeli views were not anti-Semitic.

However, in the days running up to Friday, his office released a cartoon graphic showing smiling Iranian-backed forces, Arabs and two Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem under a headline that included the phrase “the final solution.” Nazi Germany used the phrase “final solution” to describe its plan for the Holocaust, in which its forces killed 6 million Jews in World War II.

The image later was deleted from Khamenei’s Twitter account and other places, though it remains on the Farsi-language version of his official website. Israel’s Foreign Ministry offered a tweet of its own over the picture, writing: “We have experience with leaders who talk about ‘final solutions,’ and we promise: Not on our watch.”

___
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
https://apnews.com/article/a033042303545d9ef783a95222d51b83

 

Half of Christians do not believe in dogmas, Pelosi respects her shoes more than the Eucharist...

Christians are persecuted more in the West than in Islamic countries. In your country in the USA, people who pray the rosary in front of abortion clinics are arrested because they are against the killing of children. At least abortion is banned in Iran.
Not to mention how the FBI declared you terrorists and how it spies on parents who want normal upbringing of their children, not indoctrination...

And yes, I already said the Islamic Revolution in Iran is the result of the American overthrow of democracy and a coup that was financed and carried out by the CIA. Toppling failed governments, killing people and setting up an illegal government for the sake of money and oil is also "anti-Christian"... So the West has no right to moralize Iran about values, especially not with politicians who first of all do not respect God, nor their people. Yes, they show dictatorship, which was especially seen in the corona crisis, but also every time when it comes to the protection of marriage, family and the unborn...

https://catholicreview.org/five-pro...ison-for-blocking-washington-abortion-clinic/

 

Yes, Pelosi does not believe in the Eucharist, just as Islamists do not believe in redemption; in the divinity of Christ; in the atoning sacrifice; etc. the difference is that no member of the forum defends Pelosi. The persecution of Christians has not yet reached the point of resulting in the death penalty, as happens in Islamic and communist countries like North Korea. In fact, most of the members of this forum are traditionalists who are faithful to the doctrine and none of them have been arrested because of it. Even if persecution in the West was equivalent to that in the Arab world; This would not make persecution in the Arab world any less reprehensible, as is the aim of this post.

 

I'm inclined to agree with you about our politicians in the West. Dail Eireann is packed with abortion supporting Catholics. A bunch of hypocrites. I try to avoid the Irish news because it's so depressing but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if some of the most vocal leaders of the Palestinian cause in Ireland wouldn't think twice about supporting legislation restricting the freedom of speech of people who disagree with them on their favourite hot button issues. I admire the Iranians for refusing to buckle under sanctions but Muslim countries don't have a good record on freedom of religion, especially for Muslims who convert to Christianity. Much of what Luan says is true but none of it excuses Israel's treatment of the Palestinians or foreign powers manipulating weaker countries for their own strategic interests, especially when their methods involve violence or oppression.

 

There are no winners here only losers. May God help us.

 

That's the tragic truth of this terrible situation.

 

I think there is a biblical principle that makes any persecution or violation of human dignity spiritually equivalent, both in the West and in the East, or even in individual situations in our daily lives:

Isaiah 5:20
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter".

 

Luan, I suspect that it makes no difference to the victim of persecution whether the oppressor is a democracy or a dictatorship. Democracy is the new religion and its missionaries have been guilty of terrible atrocities. Also, there's nothing Christian about Israel.

 

yes, and it should be noted that Iran could be a democracy that would still be a nation that is an enemy of God due to the persecution and death of Christians. As for Israel, it is a secular nation like any other, although it is not promoting the murder of Christians like Iran. More important than democracy is the guarantee of preaching the gospel without the risk of suffering attacks on its integrity.

 

it is certainly not a Christian state because their full conversion is reserved for the time of the second coming of Christ according to the sacred scriptures and the tradition of the church.

 

Iran did have an elected government. It was toppled by a coup thanks to American interference. I don't know what was wrong with that government. I'm guessing that they committed some kind of heresy against the dogmas of the democratic religion. Unfortunately for us, the dogmas aren't written on stone and they change according to who wields the most power. Their official name seems to be the "Rules Based Order" but nobody seems to know where and from whom the rules came from. It can't be international law because some countries can break that with impunity. It seems to me that "Might is Right" would be a more honest title for the dogmas and there's certainly nothing Christian in that.

As for freedom to spread the Gospel without attacks on its integrity, we all might want to look closer to home before pointing the finger at Muslim countries. At least the Islamic countries are honest about it.

Israel is not a typical secular state especially not for non-Jews. From the little I know of it, devout Jews also have problems there. Israel is America's proxy in the Middle East. We have America and its allies to thank for Islamic jihad groups most of which are Sunni Muslims most likely aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood as are Hamas. Apparently, Sunni Muslim leaders are easier to buy off and control. The most wicked of those Sunni groups was/is ISIS. I have a strong suspicion that the purpose of ISIS was to remove Shia governments in Israel's neighbourhood. The Russians stopped ISIS in Syria although American Evangelicals believe that it was Trump who stopped them (maybe Trump cut the arms supply). Obama certainly armed them and, through their terror, almost succeeded in eradicating Christianity from the Levant.

Open your eyes Luan. I know of no country in the world that could be called "good" from a Catholic perspective and some of those we have been conditioned to regard as good can be and often are guilty of great evil. Every country has its share of good and bad people. Put not your trust in man and remember what Jesus said about the root of all evil.

 

I'm not defending any side; In fact, I have already spoken several times in the forum about the Catholic Spring, which was the participation of the Democratic Party in "the overthrow of Benedict XVI"; which is scandalous and must be denounced as well as the Vatican's shady agreement with the Chinese government. In Iran we don't even have the freedom that you and I have to criticize any government. I don't think Western governments have the morality to criticize Iran but we Christians who see our brothers being persecuted by Islamic theocracy have that right.

 

I didn't say that no government in this world is good. As for Israel, the only thing that concerns me is the fundamental purpose that at least the Jewish people exist to fulfill what was prophesied by Saint Paul. He himself experienced the ferocity of Jewish persecution up close because he participated in the stoning of Saint Stephen before his glorious conversion.

Romans 11:11;24

11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

 

There is only one good kingdom, and that is the spiritual kingdom of Jesus, as opposed to the kingdom of the "Prince of this World." Every government that persecutes Christians or their dogmas falls into the second category.

 

I know most either love or hate Trump and the rest lie in the middle. Regardless of that, I liked when he was doing an interview this year and they asked him if he was on the side of Russia or Ukraine. Paraphrasing his answer here, he said I am on the side of people not dying! Amen to that. We will never know the truth because, for the past 30 years or more, the news around the world is not accurate. It is propaganda and news entertainment. Print media is no better and these organizations are controlled by so few in power and completely infiltrated by the CIA and other agencies. If you don't believe this just look into Project Mockingbird and the congressional hearings on all this from the 1970's. It is real and true.

Now it gets even harder with the advancements in AI and deep fake technology to where even when you see videos coming out of Ukraine or Gaza, how do we know they are real? So much is deepfake technology now and many videos early on about Ukraine have been completely debunked to be false. So what is real anymore and what is fake? How can anyone take sides when we don't and will probably never know the truth?

So I am on the side of Jesus and Mary. I am on the side of not having any more innocent people dying over the desires of what 3,000 to 5,000, wealthy, evil people in the world who try to control everything? Time for the 8 billion others of us to end their rule! If not us then hopefully Jesus and Mary will soon. I have been reading the Old Testament a lot. We need some inspired by God individual(s) to rise up and end these evil evil few who own and control everything. They need to be the ones living in constant fear of the masses versus the other way around. The masses are so controlled by fear. I pray they/we all wake up soon!

 

This post is inspired by the Holy Spirit in your soul. Truth
This is exactly how I feel.

 

I am inspired by the letter of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa. Someone earlier said outside of the Roman Pontiff this is a voice that tge Universal Church should pay close attention to.

I am not getting into politics here, but I must say I’ve been troubled by the response of Israel and my own country. No doubt terrorists supported by other bad actors committed atrocity. But is the response now also leading to atrocity and perhaps even greater atrocity through all our war?

I think the Cardinal here gives a very spiritual and also temporal approach. I hope the works listens. All I can do is pray. And participate in this Fridays call for fasting, Rosaries and prayers.

peace.


https://aleteia.org/2023/10/24/jeru...m=email&utm_source=sendgrid&utm_term=20231024

 

I don't like writing much about the Holyland and the war there because it is so divisive.

But I was listening to a gentleman last night from Hezbollah in Lebanon. He was talking to a retired Colonel in the Israeli air force and they talking on Al Jazeera the Arabic news channel.

Anyway the gentleman from Hezbollah sounded to me like a gentleman who knew what he was talking about. He said Hezbollah had some 250,000 missiles stock piles. He said if they wanted to they could load many of them with a ton of explosives. He also said that modern tech made it easy for them to make them precision, in other words they would hit what they aimed at.

He said that Iron Dome the Israel Defence net could take down 50 to 60% of these but that the rest would get through. This being so it would devastate the Israel economy. It just hit me when the Israeli Colonel did not contradict this. He just said if Hezbollah did this they would turn Lebanon into a parking lot.

I mention this because I think things are much, much worse out there than any one is letting on . I must see if I can find the interview.

 

Irans hqs thousands of missiles that have a range of 1200 miles. Things could escalate very quickly. The collective punishment being pursued by Israel will not end well for anyone.