Iran has been accused of targeting Christians in its violent protest crackdown – with worshippers pleading with Donald Trump to intervene.Security forces reportedly killed at least 19 Iranian Christians as unrest spread across the Islamic Republic earlier this year, according to Article 18, an organisation promoting religious freedom in Iran.Article 18 said Iran’s “brutal response to last month’s mass demonstrations” resulted in the deaths of Christian Nader Mohammadi, 35, and Zahra Arjomandi, 51, both shot dead on January 8 in separate protests.Mr Mohammadi died in Babol in the country’s far north, while Mrs Arjomandi died on the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm in the far south, 1,000 miles apart.
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Mr Mohammadi left behind three young children aged five and under, while Mrs Arjomandi, a mother-of-two, died in her son’s arms.Iranian Christian news website Mohabat News reported that Mrs Arjomandi’s body was held by security forces for six days before being released for burial under strict security measures.This included a ban on memorial services or spreading information about her death.Mr Mohammadi’s family searched detention centres and morgues for three days before finally identifying him on January 11 with injuries reportedly so severe that he could only be recognised by known marks on his body.Iranian Christians have now asked Donald Trump to intervene to stop the Ayatollah’s regime as it cracks down on protests.And the President may heed their request.Responding to a question about regime change from reporters on Friday night, Mr Trump said it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen”.He declined to say who would take over Iran, but said “there are people”.Washington and Tehran have already held talks about their nuclear programme, but US officials want to add Iran’s long-range ballistic missile programme, its support for armed groups, and treatment of Iranian people to the agenda.READ MORE ON IRAN:Mystery as Iran’s Ayatollah goes missing from key military meeting – with no reason whyChristian persecution reaches RECORD HIGH as almost 400 million face violence and discriminationDonald Trump to deploy hundreds of troops to help fight against Islamists for persecuting ChristiansMr Trump has threatened strikes on Iran if no agreement is reached, as US officials position aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford to the Middle East.The ship had been operating in the Caribbean and took part in operations in Venezuela earlier this year.Asked why it was joining fellow aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, Mr Trump said: “In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it… if we need it, we’ll have it ready”.Mansour Borji, executive director Article 18, told Fox News: “Today, Christians, like millions of other Iranians, seek the freedom and justice that they have been denied for nearly five decades, and they know well that this comes at a price.”Every year many Christians are arrested and imprisoned under torturous conditions for practicing their right to religious freedom, where a simple act like praying together in house-churches seems like an act of civil disobedience.”He added the organisation considers Iran’s actions a “crime against humanity that should not go unpunished”.He said Iran was “branding peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists,’ and Christians that are persecuted every year as ‘Zionist mercenaries'”.He added: “Most Iranians have now come to realize that their fundamental rights have been taken away from them, including the freedom to choose one’s own religion or belief, political self-determination and even their lifestyle choices.”Christians were some of the earliest to experience this, when an Anglican priest and convert to Christianity, Reverend Arastoo Sayyah, was killed in his church office less than 200 hours after the 1979 revolution.”
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