Children were among a group of Christians reportedly rounded up by the Iranian authorities when they raided a church just before Christmas.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has received reports that the authorities barged in as Christmas celebrations were being held at a church in Ahwaz affiliated to Assemblies of God.

According to sources, authorities detained everyone in the building, including children attending the Sunday school.

They were put on two buses and the majority interrogated and threatened before eventually being released.

The church’s senior pastor, Pastor Farhad, his wife and some church leaders remain in custody.

According to CSW, the church in Ahwaz is not a part of the house church movement, but is an official and long-established church whose membership largely consists of former followers of John the Baptist who converted to Christianity.

The charity says that Pastor Farhad has been detained on several occasions in the past and warned not to allow Muslim converts into his church.

There have been raids on churches around Christmas time in the last three years.

The Iranian Church in London is concerned that the children rounded up in Ahwaz have been left traumatised by the incident and are asking for cards of encouragement to be sent to them.

The latest arrests have cast a shadow over a greeting sent to Pope Benedict XVI by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Larijani, wishing blessings and happiness for Christians at Christmas and in the coming year.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “Mr Larijani’s Christmas message may have been well intentioned, but it is entirely undermined by these arrests, which violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Iran’s own constitution.

"The Iranian authorities often insist that Christians are being arrested for indulging in actions that threaten public security, however, it is difficult to conceive how children attending Sunday school or, for that matter, legitimate Christmas celebrations fit into this category.

"It increasingly appears as if the Iranian regime has decided to deem every act of Christian worship a threat to national security. If this is indeed the case, then the right to freedom of religion or belief is gravely under threat in Iran.”