Who are the Christians in the Middle East?

Christians in the Middle East have long been in a precarious situation. The current conflict between Israel and the United States on one hand and Iran on the other is likely to make their situation even more difficult in the short term, both inside Iran and across the region.

Here's a look at who these Christians are and where they live.

In the Middle East-North Africa region, Christians reportedly make up only 3% of the population. Many of the Christians in the Gulf region are migrant workers. In Iran itself, Christians are a minuscule and persecuted percentage of the population (less than 1%), led by a cardinal. On top of this persecution by Islamic authorities, they are now in danger of suffering as collateral damage of attacks aimed at the Iranian regime.

According to organizations that focus on religious persecution, including Open Doors, the Islamic government has recently accused some Iranian Christians — especially converts — of being Western spies. Unless a more Christian- and Western-friendly government comes into power, judging by the facts on the ground, it appears likely that their situation will only get worse.

However, the problem for Middle Eastern Christians doesn’t end there. Iran has retaliated against US and Israeli attacks by striking Israel and US and UK military bases and embassies across the region. At the same time, it has also attacked civilian targets, such as airports and hotels, in various other countries around the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula.

Affected countries include Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and the United Arab Emirates — and the list is increasing. The war is already battering Lebanon as well, with Israel striking against Hezbollah in the south of that country; overall Christians constitute approximately 40% of the Lebanese population.

In all of these countries except Cyprus, Christians are a minority and often already face difficulties — whether direct persecution, restrictions on religious liberty, or the effects of wider regional conflicts.

Although Christians per se are not the target of these attacks, they are as affected as the rest of the population by the violence. Understandably, many of them may flee to seek safety elsewhere, as have a large number of Christians before them, threatened both by local persecution and by wider conflicts. Pope Francis observed in 2024 that the Middle East “is being stripped of Christians.”

The cardinal of Iran has disappeared from the public eye since the start of the latest conflict, although fellow Franciscans have confirmed they have had some private contact with him. Last year, after the 12-day war with Israel, he spoke with Aleteia.

“In an age of over-armament and fading diplomacy, the Church must embody what Pope Leo XIV calls an ‘unarmed and disarming peace,’” he said. “This isn’t a peace that forces or conquers — it’s one that soothes and invites.”

“Beyond dismantling weapons,” he added, “the Church must help cultivate inner peace — through prayer, compassion, and dialogue. We are called to foster reconciliation, justice, and love, building a future where dignity and forgiveness prevail.”

“In the darkness of war, when violence seems to have the upper hand, Christ reminds us that true greatness lies in serving others and in sacrifice.”

Bishop Aldo Berardi, Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, is based in Awali, Bahrain. In an interview, he told Vatican News, “The region is already very complex because of geopolitics and its economic implications, and now, with this Israeli-American intervention, it has unleashed—I would not say hell—but something we were not expecting.”

He explains that while the churches and faithful there aren’t the direct target of Iranian attacks on the country, “debris and explosions can damage buildings and, above all, injure people.” 

“In this part of the world,” he adds, “grievances are deep-rooted and centuries old. So, when such great violence is accumulated, when the dignity and self-respect of peoples are struck, and when attacks are carried out violently, the response is equally violent,” he says.

“We must pray that peace may be restored and that we are not swept up in this spiral. [...] There is a risk that the entire region will explode.”

For his part, Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, has also spoken out.  Echoing a message from Pope Leo to the region, he told Vatican News that it is vital “to start again with diplomacy and dialogue, so that we can remove all the obstacles before us in order to promote peace and reconciliation among peoples.”

He also emphasized that “It is very important for us to keep in mind the daily life of the people, the well-being of people who yearn for a peaceful existence founded on justice.”

In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Eugene Nugent, Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, described the “dramatic and worsening” situation there, where Iranian missiles and drones have struck the airport and the American embassy. “We remain in contact with the authorities and ambassadors, at least to encourage them to use every possible means to bring this war to an end. Sadly, once a war begins, no one ever knows when it will end,” he said.

“We have lived in this region for centuries. Every country is bound to seek peace and harmony. We pray very much for this.” The Catholic faithful there turn to “Our Lady of Arabia,” to whom they have deep devotion. “In this dramatic moment, we pray very much to the Virgin, Queen of Peace. It is through her intercession with her Son that the war will come to an end.”

Open Doors is an ecumenical and non-denominational organization which monitors the persecution of Christians worldwide. It placed Iran in tenth place on its World Watch List as having “extreme” levels of persecution (first place being North Korea). However, the website notes that the situation might have become even worse since the start of the war that Israel and the United States launched against Iran on February 28.

As both Open Doors and the U.S. State Department note, conversion from Islam to Christianity is illegal and converts are severely persecuted and imprisoned. They are also often seen as sympathizing with “the West” or as agents of “Zionist propaganda.” This puts them in a dangerous position during this time of conflict between Iran and Western powers. Also in recent times, Christians have been accused of espionage. At best, Christians are treated as second-class citizens, Open Doors alleges. Many choose to flee the country.

Iran has a population of over 80 million, the vast majority Muslim, mostly Shi’i. Less than 1% of the population belong to other faiths, mostly Baha’ism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.

Of the Christians, the majority are Orthodox Armenians. There are only about 2,000 to 6,000 Latin Rite Catholics in Iran, with one Latin Rite cardinal, the archbishop of Teheran-Isfahan: a 63-year-old Belgian Franciscan named Dominique Mathieu. The country also has one Chaldean Catholic archbishop, Imad Khoshaba Gargees.

Although Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are recognized as official minorities under Iran’s 1979 constitution that resulted from the Islamic revolution, the religious freedom of minorities has since then been severely limited, both of official and unofficial groups.

Indeed, as the State Department of the US notes in its 2023 report on religious freedom, many Christians are clandestine, so the total number of Christians is unknown. It cites estimates ranging from less than 200,000 to more than 1,000,000. Other sources claim the numbers are between 1 and 3 million.

In fact, some sources (mostly Protestant and Evangelical Protestant) claim that Iran has “one of the fastest-growing Christian movements in the world.” However, little evidence is easily available to confirm this.

No matter how many they are, we join them in praying for peace and religious freedom in Iran and throughout the region.