Thank God for the firm actions the U.S. has taken with Iran. Pray for political and religious freedom for the people of Iran and for the U.S. to pursue wise and effective policies in dealing with Iran.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. (Ps 2:10-11)

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VIDEO: In May, a small group of IFA intercessors joined IFA staff for the National Day of Prayer and a celebration event at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC. We were very impressed with Ambassador Ron Dermer’s succinct explanation of what was wrong with the Iran Nuclear Deal. Click HERE to watch him explain.

President Trump made clear when he ended United States participation in the JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal) that his Administration would be reimposing tough sanctions on the Iranian regime.

On August 7, sanctions will be reimposed on:

• The purchase or acquisition of United States bank notes by the Government of Iran
• Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals.
• Graphite, aluminum, steel, coal, and software used in industrial processes.
• Transactions related to the Iranian rial.
• Activities relating to Iran’s issuance of sovereign debt
• Iran’s automotive sector.
• The remaining sanctions will be reimposed on November 5, including sanctions on:
  • Iran’s port operators and energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors.
  • Iran’s petroleum-related transactions.
  • Transactions by foreign financial institutions with the Central Bank of Iran.

(WhiteHouse.gov)

Iranian Christians Testify About Being Imprisoned for Christ: Two Iranian Christians are pleading with the world to hear the cries of the Iranian people as they recounted their own ordeal of being imprisoned for their faith.

In remarks before hundreds gathered at a plenary session at the State Department for the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh explained how Jesus Christ sustained them and miraculously intervened when they were jailed. The women were born into Muslim families who became Christians as young adults; the two friends met in Turkey while studying theology in 2005.

The two women were arrested in 2009 by the Iranian regime because of their Christian faith and spent 259 days in one of the nation’s most notorious prisons. They were subjected to daily interrogations and mental torture, were said to have committed various offenses — apostasy, blasphemy, promoting Christianity in Iran — and were sentenced to execution by hanging. During their ordeal, Iranian officials also routinely threatened their lives and the lives of their families in order to pressure them to recant their faith, but they refused.

“Since Islam is the only official religion in Iran, government authorities forbid other religious minorities from practicing their faith,” Amirizadeh said, noting that persecution against Christians has been rising in recent years.

Men and women who leave Islam for the Christian faith are deemed “infidels” and “dirty,” she continued, and such individuals often face the death penalty and various kinds of torture….

“Hundreds of Christians have been arrested by Iranian authorities and charged with disrupting national security for being a Christian and participating in home churches, receiving prison sentences of 2 to 10 years,” Rostampour explained Wednesday.

Despite these pressures, Christianity is spreading in Iran, she continued, and the majority of Iranians are tired of their current government as they regard it as corrupt and oppressive.

“Our hope and prayer for our country is that one day Iran will be a free country,” she said to applause, “ruled by a democratic government.”

“We hope for a day when all religious minorities can meet together in peace without having the fear of getting harassed, arrested, tortured or killed by the government.”… (Excerpts from Brandon Showalter’s article on Christian Post)