ARMENIA-IRAN BORDER – An Iranian Christian who was shot for standing up to his oppressors is still in the fight. He now lives in Armenia, where he and other Iranian believers hope to return home once the Islamic regime falls. Their mission: to bring faith, hope, and a message of change to their people.
Abtin raises his arm slowly. The scars are still there – a lasting reminder of the day he says Iranian security forces opened fire.
“There was an assassination attempt on my life. I was on the streets with others protesting the regime,” he recalls.
Thousands had taken to the streets, angry over rising gasoline prices and what they saw as years of corruption and inequality.
“We were protesting the oppression and discrimination that existed in society by a handful of oligarchs who, for decades, took all the wealth of the country into their hands and did nothing for us. They don’t care about people’s pain and suffering,” Abtin says.
Then came the gunfire. A shotgun blast tore into his arm.
“This is the result: after 4 surgeries, it looks like this,” he explains, showing his scars.
Abtin says the protests were never just about gasoline prices.
“We are fighting for freedom, for a normal life, for prosperity, for security. The most obvious things that every human being needs in life.”
Eventually, he fled to Armenia and found a small Iranian church.
“I was in a bad mental state when I came to Armenia, and the only place that could give me that peace during this time was this church.”
The pastor here says Naioth Church is about more than worship; it’s a place of preparation.
Pastor Omid says, “The people of Iran need salvation even more than they need civil liberties and freedoms in our country. They need the salvation that comes through knowing Jesus Christ. The freedoms and comforts of this world are temporary and limited, but He is eternal.”
Many Iranian believers here hope political change will one day let them return home.
“That is why we are preparing these people, both those here in the Bible school and those we have in Iran in the house churches, so that when the day comes that Iran is liberated, they can return and preach the gospel,” Pastor Omid says.
In Yerevan, Iranian Christians recently honored seven U.S. soldiers killed in Operation Epic Fury and prayed for those injured in the war.
Some thanked Americans and Israelis for standing against Iran’s ruling system and expressed hope for future freedom.
Beyond the refugee community, Armenians are also preparing to support that vision.
For several years now, Armenian Christians have moved near the border fence that divides Iran from Armenia, seeing it as a very strategic part of their country. They believe that this is the moment they’ve been praying for, for such a long time, that the Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit will continue to move across the nation of Iran.
Dr. Jacob Pursley mentors Armenian Christians serving along the border.
“Since we started the ministry there about six years ago, we’ve been raising up a church in the region, that’s a missional church. Instead of going to Iran just to shop for goods, they go there to bring the love of Jesus. They are able to go there, make relationships with people in Iran, and as Armenians, they are accepted there, and they have a huge openness, and this is something an American could not do,” he explains.
For Abtin, the mission is personal. He hopes to return home, not as a protester, but as a messenger of faith.
“I am glad this happened to me, because I believe it was worth it. It was part of the struggle for my people and for their freedom and nothing could be more important than that.”
