Iran

| IRAN

A court has upheld decades of prison sentences for five defendants. Their ‘crime’ was participating in house church services, taking online courses on faith and attending training courses abroad (Turkey). On 7 October, another trial for blasphemy. In August, state television broadcast a propaganda documentary featuring forced confessions by converts.


Mehran Shamloui, 37, was trying to reach Europe, but was stopped by Turkish authorities who sent him back to his country of origin, he had been sentenced recently to 10 years in prison for religious activities. Meanwhile, Iran continues its policy of expelling hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants.

| 07/07/2025
| IRAN – TURKEY – AFGHANISTAN
by Dario Salvi

Speaking to AsiaNews, the parish priest describes the tragic reality of a population that is getting more desperate by the day. The war continues in the shadow of Israel-Iran confrontation, with a glimmer of hope for fresh ceasefire negotiations. Netanyahu is set to visit the White House next week. Palestinians in Gaza show photos of Israeli children killed by Hamas on 7 October.

| 01/07/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST

In recent days, three men accused of “spying” for Israel were executed. Dozens of Afghan migrants were detained in Operation “Plan Hijrat”. According to the UN, Tehran is deporting up to 30,000 Afghans a day. Arrests and interrogations also among Baha'is and Iranian Jews. An apparent show of force to mask military weaknesses.

| 30/06/2025
| IRAN
by Card Dominique Joseph Mathieu*

In his latest reflection in his “war diary”, Archbishop Mathieu turns to the ceasefire in force since yesterday between Israel and Iran, after the US intervention. The '12-day war' has changed “the perception of the world”. He is grateful for the sense of “the closeness” expressed “in many ways”. Yet, “We are still at the right of self-defence,” he writes. And “if we think that caring for our flowers and plants is all about weeding, we risk making the soil sterile.” Transmitting “love and not hate” is a challenge.

| 25/06/2025
| IRAN – ISRAEL
by Dario Salvi

In a situation that remains “worrying” despite the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, Monsignor Martinelli recalls that “the possibility of dialogue must never be abandoned”. The document on brotherhood is a “response of peace to violence”. Prayer and friendship initiatives at the Abrahamic Family House in the footsteps of St Francis. Places are needed to “experience hope, peace and reconciliation”.

| 25/06/2025
| GULF - ISRAEL - IRAN
by Dario Salvi

Trump announced a ceasefire, but promising new attacks, Israel accuses Iran of violating it, a claim Iran rejected. Bishop Nahra describes Israel as a nation still "paralysed" by "permanent war”, vulnerable to rockets. He expressed closeness to Christians in Syria, victims of religious violence. He stressed the need for people "rooted in hope”, while waiting for pilgrims’ return.

| 24/06/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST
Editor's choices
 
Zaw Zaw, a powerful businessman who heads the Myanmar Football Federation, was appointed to chair FIFA's Social Responsibility Committee. Sanctioned in the past by the United States for his ties to the military, the oligarch has over the years built ...
| 09/10/2025
| MYANMAR
 
by Gianni Criveller
1 October marked the anniversary of the canonisation desired by John Paul II  which gave rise to the most conflictual moment in relations between Beijing and the Holy See. In the context of today's dialogue with the Beijing authorities, ...
| 05/10/2025
| ECCLESIA IN ASIA
 
The former interior minister, known for her tough stance on China and her nationalist policies, won the Liberal Democratic Party primaries and is set to lead the government as its leader. However, without a majority in parliament, she will have to seek ...
| 04/10/2025
| JAPAN
 
by Dario Salvi
For the Jewish leader, a leading figure in relations with Christians and Muslims, the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi is a "natural partner" to develop point 18 of the US plan to end the war in Gaza. “Such a clause already appears in the Abraham ...
| 01/10/2025
| ISRAEL – PALESTINE
 
A court in Wenzhou has convicted 39 members of the Ming family, originally from Shan State in northern Myanmar, for fraud and drug trafficking, among others, activities that generated estimated proceeds of over 10 billion yuan. Among those sentenced ...
| 30/09/2025
| MYANMAR – CHINA
 
by Mathias Hariyadi
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto made the announcement at the UN General Assembly. In his speech, he reiterated his commitment to the two-state solution as the only way forward in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the same time, he condemned ...
| 24/09/2025
| INDONESIA
 
An Afghan boy arrived in New Delhi from Kabul hiding in the landing gear of a plane. Indian authorities immediately sent him back. Taliban flatly refuse Trump’s demand for a return of the Bagram Air Base, while ordinary Afghans are still dealing ...
| 23/09/2025
| AFGHANISTAN
 
The 42-year-old blogger and lawyer who was jailed for reporting on the pandemic in Wuhan will spend more time behind bars for “causing a public disturbance”. Her "crime" was attempting to meet and defend a trade unionist in Gansu. Friends ...
| 22/09/2025
| CHINA
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”