Iranian authorities arrested on Sunday nine followers of the Baha'i faith over a host of corruption charges including money laundering and tax evasion, the intelligence ministry said.
The Baha'is, Iran's largest non-Muslim minority, are branded by the Islamic republic as "heretics" and are often targeted over alleged ties to Israel, which is home to their most important shrines and world headquarters.
Sunday's arrests targeted members of the group in the capital Tehran, who are said to own "20 pharmacies, three cosmetic companies and multiple unauthorized warehouses," according to the ministry.
"Nine people were arrested and 40 pharmacies and warehouses were seized," it said, accusing them of having "committed all kinds of violations and crimes," including "smuggling and hoarding medicine, fraud, money laundering... and tax evasion."
Iran, where Shiite Islam is the state religion, recognizes some minority faiths including Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.
The Islamic republic however does not recognize the Baha'is who follow the teachings of Bahaullah, born in 1817, whom they consider a prophet and founder of their monotheistic faith.
In July, authorities arrested several Baha'is over links with Bayt al-Adl, the Baha'is' Universal House of Justice in the coastal Israeli city of Haifa.
Baha'is have long complained of discrimination in Iran since the emergence of their faith in the second half of the 19th century, well before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The Baha'i community claims to have more than seven million followers worldwide, including some 300,000 in Iran.
Iranian authorities arrested on Sunday nine followers of the Baha'i faith over a host of corruption charges including money laundering and tax evasion, the intelligence ministry said.
The Baha'is, Iran's largest non-Muslim minority, are branded by the Islamic republic as "heretics" and are often targeted over alleged ties to Israel, which is home to their most important shrines and world headquarters.
Sunday's arrests targeted members of the group in the capital Tehran, who are said to own "20 pharmacies, three cosmetic companies and multiple unauthorized warehouses," according to the ministry.
"Nine people were arrested and 40 pharmacies and warehouses were seized," it said, accusing them of having "committed all kinds of violations...
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