Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security has ordered the last two officially registered churches holding Friday Farsi-language services in Tehran to discontinue them. The order was announced on 10 February 2012.

Emmanuel Protestant Church and St. Peter's Evangelical Church (pictured), both Presbyterian, are among the few officially registered churches serving Iran's Armenian and Assyrian communities, and most of their services are conducted in the Armenian and Assyrian languages.

On 15 December 2011, 35 Ethiopian Christians working in Saudi Arabia were arrested and detained by the religious police for holding a private prayer meeting in Jeddah. The six men and 29 women are being held in Jeddah's Briman prison.

There are grave fears for the life of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, based on reports coming out of Iran from sources close to the case. Youcef was last seen on Friday 17 February.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani recently refused an offer to secure his release if he agreed to state that the Prophet Mohammed was a messenger sent by God.

Pastor Farhad Sabokroh and his co-workers Davoud Alijani and Naser Zamen-Dezfuli (pictured) from the Assemblies of God church in Ahwaz have been in custody in an unknown location since 23 December 2011.

The Iranian judiciary has issued a perplexing decision in the case of Youcef Nadarkhani. Youcef's local lawyer in Rasht was informed that the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, has ordered the presiding judge over the trial in Rasht, Mr Ghazi Kashani, to do nothing for one year. The order was to not issue a verdict, to hold Youcef in prison, and to use whatever means necessary to cause him to recant and return to Islam.

The Iranian judiciary is again delaying the verdict on the re-examination of the case of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, under sentence of death for apostasy. It had been previously thought that a verdict would be announced in mid-December but reports from Iran now indicate that it will be delayed - possibly into 2012.

Lawyers acting for Youcef Nadarkhani have stated that they now expect the verdict in his case to be announced in mid-December, although there are fears that it may be issued to coincide with the Christmas season in order to avoid an international outcry.