are protected under Iranian law;[32] Iran has not acknowledged that the Bahá'í Faith is a religion.[32] The United Nations responded to the Iranian government's accusations by stating that there has been no evidence of Iran's claims and that the Bahá'í community in Iran professes its allegiance to the state. The United Nations pointed to the Bahá'í teaching of obedience to the government of one's country and stated that any involvement in any subversive acts against the government would be antithetical to precepts of the Bahá'í religion.[20] The United Nations also stated that if the Iranian government did acknowledge that the Bahá'í Faith is a religion, it would be an admission that freedom of religion does not apply to all in Iran and that it is not abiding bythe Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants on Human Rights to which it is a signatory.[32]

The Iranian government responds to these statements by saying that Bahá'ís are enemies of the state, were supporters of the former Shah's government and spies employed by imperialist governments of the West.[2] The Ayatollah Khomeini, even before his return to Iran said in an interview that he believed that Bahá'ís were traitors — Zionists — and enemies of Islam.[116]

The United StatesDepartment of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor stated in the 2004 Report on International Religious Freedom that "The Government harasses the Bahá'í community by arresting Bahá'ís arbitrarily,"[115] that "the property rights of Bahá'ís are generally disregarded, ... the Government has confiscated large numbers of private and business properties