Christian World | Remains of the historic Evangelical Church in Mashhad, Iran, were razed overnight, Mohabat News says; this report has not yet been confirmed by other sources

ACW | November 7, 2026 — What remained of the historic Evangelical Church in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, was completely demolished on the night of Thursday, Nov. 5, Mohabat News, a Persian-language Christian news outlet, reported.

Mohabat News said on Saturday the demolition came five months after a first phase, and despite a court order to halt the work. This report has not yet been confirmed by other sources.

Mohammad Akbarpour, a media activist in Razavi Khorasan province, said a neighbour reported heavy traffic of debris trucks late at night and the start of work to tear down the remaining structure, according to Mohabat News.

After the first demolition, provincial governor Gholamhossein Mozaffari called it unacceptable, asked Mashhad's municipality and city council to acquire the site and promised a faithful reconstruction, the outlet said. Provincial prosecutor Hassan Hemmatifar had ordered the work stopped.

Mohabat News' report carried no response from Iranian officials to the latest demolition.

Background: The first demolition was carried out with a bulldozer in the early hours of June 4, 2026, Radio Farda reported. The building had been listed as a national heritage site in August 2005, it said. A provincial heritage official told Mohabat News it was removed from the national list in the early 2010s but is still classed as a valuable building in central Mashhad's city plan.

Why it matters: The church was confiscated under court rulings in the 1980s and taken out of Christian use, according to Radio Farda. Mohabat News describes it as a symbol of Protestant missionary work in eastern Iran and of Mashhad's religious diversity.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Mohabat News — Remains of Mashhad's historic Evangelical Church fully demolished (Persian); Radio Farda — The controversial demolition of Mashhad's Evangelical Church (background, Persian)

Photo: Mohabat News