This is an alphabetic list of notable people from Iran or its historical predecessors.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

In the news

  • Ali Khamenei, former supreme leader of Iran. Assassinated in 2026.
  • Ebrahim Raisi, former president of Iran, former Chief Justice of Iran. Died in a famous helicopter crash.
  • Hassan Rouhani, former president of Iran (2013–2021)
  • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran (2005–2013)
  • Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former politician
  • Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force
  • Ali Larijani, former Speaker of the Parliament of Iran from 2008 to 2020.
  • Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, former Mayor of Tehran, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly
  • Ali Dizaei, senior officer in the London Metropolitan Police
  • Anousheh Ansari, first female space tourist in the world, telecommunication entrepreneur and namesake of the Ansari X Prize
  • Bahar Soomekh, Iranian-American actor
  • Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of London-based children's charity Kids Company
  • Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed Shah of Iran, crown prince in exile.
  • Shirin Ebadi, recipient of 2003 Nobel Peace Prize
  • Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and writer. He has been described as "Iran's preeminent political
  • Hossein Ronaghi, Iranian human rights activist and bloggerdissident".

Artists

See also: List of Iranian artists

Calligraphists

  • Gholam Hossein Amirkhani
  • Abolhassan Etessami
  • Mir Emad Hassani
  • Seyyed Jafar Kashfi
  • Yadollah Kaboli Khansari
  • Mishkín-Qalam
  • Jalil Rasouli
  • Mehdi Saeedi
  • Mir Ali Tabrizi

Cartoonists

  • Golnar Servatian
  • Javad Alizadeh
  • Maziyar Bizhani
  • Nikahang Kowsar
  • Mana Neyestani
  • Touka Neyestani

Painters, illustrators and sculptors

See also: List of Iranian painters
  • Abolhassan Khan Sadighi
  • Ali Akbar Sadeghi
  • Amir Shayesteh Tabar
  • Aydin Aghdashloo
  • Bahram Soroush
  • Daryush Shokof
  • Farhad Sadeghi Amini
  • Gholamhossein Saber
  • Haydar Hatemi
  • Hossein Behzad
  • Hossein Valamanesh
  • Hossein Zenderoudi
  • Iran Darroudi
  • Jazeh Tabatabai
  • Kamal ol-Molk
  • Kamaleddin Behzad
  • Mahmoud Farshchian
  • Mani
  • Maryam Hashemi (Maryam Sandjari)
  • Mohammad Ali Taraghijah
  • Mohsen Vaziri-Moghaddam
  • Mokarrameh Ghanbari
  • Noreen Motamed
  • Afshin Naghouni
  • Parviz Tanavoli
  • Reza Abbasi
  • Shahla Aghapour
  • Shahla Arbabi
  • Shirazeh Houshiary
  • Siah Armajani
  • Sohrab Sepehri
  • Zhaleh Kazemi
  • Sara Nazari ghanbari

Photographers

  • Abbas
  • Abbas Kiarostami
  • Alfred Yaghobzadeh
  • Ali Ghanbari
  • Ali Khan Vali
  • Jahangir Razmi
  • Kaveh Golestan
  • Maryam Zandi
  • Mitra Tabrizian
  • Morteza Avini
  • Nader Davoodi
  • Nasrollah Kasraian
  • Newsha Tavakolian
  • Reza Deghati
  • Hossein Rajabian
  • Sadegh Tirafkan
  • Shadi Ghadirian
  • Shahram Entekhabi
  • Shirana Shahbazi
  • Shirin Neshat

Designers

Architects

See also: List of Iranian architects and List of historical Iranian architects
  • Hossein Amanat
  • Kamran Diba
  • Heydar Ghiaï-Chamlou
  • Fariborz Sahba
  • Moein Jalali

Fashion designers

  • Pegah Anvarian
  • Bijan
  • Shirin Guild
  • Arefeh Mansouri
  • Behnaz Sarafpour
  • Mahla Zamani
  • Mike Amiri

Graphic designers

  • Reza Abedini
  • Farshid Mesghali
  • Morteza Momayez
  • Mehdi Saeedi
  • Ghobad Shiva

Industrian designers

  • Nader Faghihzadeh
  • Alexander Kostellow
  • Iman Maghsoudi
  • Mona Paad
  • Sohrab Vossoughi

Business

  • Kia Joorabchian, businessman
  • Hooman Radfar, entrepreneur
  • Nasser David Khalili, billionaire and art collector

Entertainers

Comedians

  • Baba Ali, Islamic comedy
  • Max Amini
  • Omid Djalili
  • Negin Farsad
  • Shahin Jamie
  • Maz Jobrani
  • Shaparak Khorsandi
  • Hadi Khorsandi
  • Ebrahim Nabavi
  • Nasim Pedrad

Dancers and choreographers

  • Jamileh
  • Farzaneh Kaboli, folkloric
  • Nima Kiann
  • Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam, folkloric

Models, beauty pageant

  • Nazanin Afshin-Jam, actress, singer-songwriter, human-rights activist; Miss World 2003 first runner-up; Miss Canada 2003
  • Ramona Amiri, Miss Canada 2005
  • Sahar Biniaz (born 1986), Miss Universe Canada 2012
  • Aylar Lie (born 1984), Iranian-born Norwegian actress, model, singer, former pornographic actress
  • Shermine Shahrivar, Miss Europe 2005
  • Samantha Tajik (born 1983), Miss Universe Canada 2008

Film actors

  • Akbar Abdi
  • Alan Mehdizadeh
  • Ali Mosaffa
  • Ali Nassirian
  • Amin Hayaee
  • Amirhossein Arman
  • Artemis Pebdani
  • Asghar Farhadi
  • Azita Hajian
  • Bahar Soomekh
  • Bahram Radan
  • Behrouz Vossoughi
  • Behzad Farahani
  • Bijan Daneshmand
  • Bita Farrahi
  • Bizhan Emkanian
  • Catherine Bell
  • Christiane Amanpour
  • Daryoush Arjmand
  • Daryush Shokof
  • Davoud Rashidi
  • Delkash
  • Elnaaz Norouzi
  • Ezzatollah Entezami
  • Faramarz Gharibian
  • Farimah Farjami
  • Fatemeh Motamed-Aria
  • Golab Adineh
  • Golshifteh Farahani
  • Googoosh
  • Hamed Behdad
  • Hedyeh Tehrani
  • Homa Rousta
  • Homayoun Ershadi
  • Jahangir Forouhar
  • Jamileh Sheykhi
  • Jamshid Mashayekhi
  • Kamshad Kooshan
  • Kazem HajirAzad
  • Khosrow Shakibaee
  • Leila Forouhar
  • Leila Hatami
  • Mahaia Petrosian
  • Mahnaz Afshar
  • Majid Majidi
  • Mandana Karimi
  • Maz Jobrani
  • Mehdi Fat'hi
  • Mehdi Hashemi (actor)
  • Mehran Modiri
  • Merila Zarei
  • Mohammad Ali Fardin
  • Mohammad Ali Keshavarz
  • Mohammad Reza Foroutan
  • Mohammad Reza Golzar
  • Mohammad Reza Sharifinia
  • Navid Mohammadzadeh
  • Nazanin Afshin-Jam
  • Nematollah Aghasi
  • Niki Karimi
  • Omid Ahangar
  • Parsa Pirouzfar
  • Parviz Fannizadeh
  • Parviz Parastouee
  • Parviz Sayyad
  • Pegah Ahangarani
  • Reza Kianian
  • Reza Rahardian
  • Roxanne Pallett
  • Roya Nonahali
  • Saeed Rad
  • Sam Asghari
  • Sarah Shahi
  • Shaghayegh Farahani
  • Shahab Hosseini
  • Shohreh Aghdashloo
  • Sussan Taslimi
  • Taraneh Alidousti
  • Zahra Amir Ebrahimi

Theatre and stage actors

  • Mehdi Bajestani
  • Taha Behbahani
  • Mohsen Shah Ebrahimi
  • Behzad Farahani
  • Shamsi Fazlollahi
  • Alan Mehdizadeh
  • Ali Nassirian
  • Hayley Tamaddon
  • Kazem HajirAzad
  • Ahmad Saatchian
  • Mohammad Reza Jozi
  • Ramin Karimloo
  • Roya Teymourian
  • Shiva Boloorian

Filmmakers, directors

Filmmakers

  • Abbas Kiarostami, director of Taste of Cherry
  • Abdolhossein Sepanta
  • Hassan Hajgozar
  • Abolfazl Jalili
  • Ali Ardekani
  • Ali Hatami
  • Ali Sajadi Hoseini
  • Amir Naderi
  • Asghar Farhadi, director of A Separation
  • Babak Payami
  • Bahman Farman-Ara
  • Bahman Ghobadi, director of A Time for Drunken Horses
  • Bahman Maghsoudlou
  • Bahram Beizai
  • Behrooz Gharibpoor
  • Daryush Shokof
  • Darius Khondji
  • Darius Mehrjui
  • Desiree Akhavan, director of Appropriate Behavior
  • Ebrahim Hatamikia
  • Emud Mokhberi, Academy Award-nominated director and animator
  • Esma'il Kooshan
  • Houman Seyyedi
  • Iraj Ghaderi
  • Jafar Panahi, director of The Circle
  • Kamal Tabrizi
  • Kami Asgar
  • Kamran Shirdel
  • Kamshad Kooshan
  • Khosrow Sinai
  • Kiarash Anvari
  • Kiumars Pourahmad
  • Mahdi Bemani Naeini
  • Majid Majidi, director of Children of Heaven
  • Masoud Kimiai
  • Mehran Modiri
  • Mohsen Makhmalbaf, director of Kandahar
  • Mostafa Keshvari
  • Nasser Taghvai
  • Parviz Kimiavi
  • Hossein Rajabian, director of The Upside-down Triangle
  • Parviz Nouri
  • Shabnam Rezaei
  • Parviz Shahbazi
  • Parviz Sayyad
  • Bob Yari, Iranian-born American film producer
  • Pouran Derakhshandeh, award-winning film director and producer
  • Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
  • Ramin Farahani
  • Rasoul Mollagholipour
  • Reza Badiyi
  • Sadaf Foroughi
  • Samira Makhmalbaf, director of At Five in the Afternoon
  • Samuel Khachikian
  • Sohrab Shahid-Sales
  • Saeed Roustayi
  • Tina Gharavi

Theatre and stage directors

  • Akbar Radi
  • Bahram Bayzai
  • Behrouz Gharibpour
  • Ghotbeddin Sadeghi
  • Hengameh Mofid
  • Hossein Rajabian
  • Mostafa Oskooyi
  • Reza Shirmarz
  • Shiva Boloorian

Musicians and singers

See also: List of Iranian musicians

Classical

See also: List of Iranian composers

Iranian classical traditional

  • Abolhasan Saba
  • Alireza Eftekhari
  • Alinaghi Vaziri
  • Dariush Eghbali
  • Elaheh
  • Gholam-Hossein Banan
  • Homayoun Shajarian
  • Hossein Khaje Amiri
  • Hossein Tehrani
  • Hossein Alizadeh
  • Jalal Zolfonun
  • Javad Maroofi
  • Kamkarha
  • Kayhan Kalhor
  • Mahmoud Zoulfonoun
  • Marzieh
  • Maryam Akhondy
  • Mirza Abdollah Farahani
  • Mohammad Reza Lotfi
  • Mohammad Shams
  • Mohammad-Reza Shajarian
  • Mohsen Namjoo
  • Morteza Hannaneh
  • Mehdi Rajabian
  • Nashit
  • Nur Ali Elahi
  • Parisa
  • Parviz Meshkatian
  • Parviz Yahaghi
  • Ruhollah Khaleghi
  • Shahram Nazeri
  • Sima Bina
  • Zyriab

Modern traditional

  • Ahmad Pejman
  • Abolfazl Moradi
  • Axiom of Choice
  • Farhad Fakhreddini
  • Morteza Hannaneh
  • Niyaz
  • Ramin Rahimi
  • Zohreh Jooya
  • Mehdi Rajabian
  • Sina Bathaie

Western classical

  • Ali Rahbari
  • Alireza Mashayekhi
  • Amin Homaei
  • Aminollah Hossein
  • Anoushiravan Rohani
  • Armik
  • Ashkan Saberi
  • Hangi Tavakoli
  • Heshmat Sandjari
  • Loris Tjeknavorian (Loris Cheknavarian)
  • Lotfi Mansouri
  • Mahan Esfahani
  • Sahba Aminikia
  • Mehdi Hosseini
  • Nader Mashayekhi
  • Reza Najfar
  • Shahrdad Rohani
  • Hooman Khalatbari

Electronic

  • Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia
  • Ali Movasat (DJ Aligator)
  • Ashkan Kooshanejad
  • Deep Dish
  • Leila Arab
  • Sharam Tayebi
  • Sina Bathaie
  • Steve Naghavi from And One

Pop

  • Alireza Assar
  • Alireza Talischi
  • Andy Madadian
  • Anousheh Khalili
  • Arash
  • Aref
  • Arian Band
  • Benyamin Arefi
  • Bijan Mortazavi
  • Darius Danesh
  • Dariush Eghbali
  • Delkash
  • Ebi
  • Faramarz Aslani
  • Farhad
  • Fereidoun Foroughi
  • Googoosh
  • Habib
  • Hassan Sattar
  • Hassan Shamaizadeh
  • Hayadeh
  • Homeyra
  • Ilya Salmanzadeh
  • Kouros
  • Leila Forouhar
  • Mahasti
  • Mansour
  • May J.
  • Mehrdad
  • Moein
  • Mohammad Esfahani
  • Mohammad Nouri
  • Pyruz
  • Reza Sadeghi
  • Sepideh
  • Sevdaliza
  • Siavash Ghomeyshi
  • Shahkar Binesh Pazhooh
  • Shahram Shabpareh
  • Shahrum K
  • Shohreh Solati
  • Snoh Aalegra
  • Susan Roshan
  • Toofan
  • Vigen

Rap music

  • Amir Tataloo
  • Hichkas
  • Hiphopologist
  • pishro
  • Yas
  • Zedbazi
  • Shahin Najafi
  • Bahram
  • Erfan
  • Hangi Tavakoli, Multi-Platinum music producer and songwriter

Lyricists

  • Aref Ghazvini
  • Hangi Tavakoli
  • Hossein Monzavi
  • Leila Kasra
  • Maryam Heydarzadeh
  • Rahim Moeini Kermanshahi
  • Shahyar Ghanbari

Rock and metal

  • Amir Derakh, from the band Orgy
  • Angband
  • Barad
  • Kiosk

Film score composers

  • Ahmad Pejman
  • Fariborz Lachini
  • Hangi Tavakoli
  • Hossein Alizadeh
  • Majid Entezami
  • Mehdi Rajabian
  • Peyman Yazdanian
  • Ramin Djawadi

Journalists, media

Bloggers

  • Hossein Derakhshan
  • Massoumeh Ebtekar
  • Mehdi Jami
  • Mohammad Ali Abtahi
  • Mohammad Reza Pourshajari
  • Mojtaba Saminejad
  • Omid Memarian
  • Sina Motalebi

Journalists

  • Akbar Ganji
  • Ali Akbar Abdolrashidi
  • Ali Akbar Dehkhoda
  • Alireza Jafarzadeh
  • Alireza Nourizadeh
  • Arash Markazi
  • Azadeh Ensha, The New York Times
  • Azadeh Moaveni
  • Christiane Amanpour
  • Ebrahim Nabavi
  • Emadeddin Baghi
  • Farjam Behnam
  • Farrokhi Yazdi, Pahlavi era
  • Hashem Aghajari
  • Hossein Shariatmadari
  • Mostafa Javadi Pour Moradi[1]
  • Kaveh Golestan, BBC
  • Kioumars Saberi Foumani
  • Mahshid Amirshahi
  • Masih Alinejad
  • Masoud Dehnamaki
  • Massoud Behnoud
  • Mehran Ghassemi
  • Mirzadeh Eshghi
  • Hossein Rajabian
  • Mohammad Taghi Bahar
  • Nikahang Kowsar
  • Omid Memarian
  • Rudi Bakhtiar
  • Saeed Hajjarian
  • Saeed Kamali Dehghan
  • Shadi Sadr
  • Sina Motallebi
  • Youness Shokrkhah
  • Maziar Bahari
  • Saeed Kamali Dehghan
  • Kasra Nouri
  • Mohammad Mosaed

News anchors

  • Adel Ferdosipour, football announcer, Navad program
  • Ali Akbar Abdolrashidi, correspondent, commentator, anchorman
  • Mehrdad Kia, T.V. and Radio Broadcaster and executive producer in television and music industry.
  • Alireza Jafarzadeh, Foreign Affairs Analyst, Fox News
  • Christiane Amanpour, television journalist, CNN
  • Fereydoun Farrokhzad, TV personality and opposition figure
  • Jian Ghomeshi, musician, writer, and former CBC radio broadcaster
  • Maryam Namazi, news anchor at Al Jazeera (English section)
  • Reza Fazeli, actor, film director and opposition figure
  • Rudi Bakhtiar, news anchor, formerly with CNN and Fox News

Leaders, politicians, activists

Main articles: List of grand viziers of Persia, List of prime ministers of Iran, and List of monarchs of Persia

This list excludes royalty, which can be accessed by the main article link above.

Historical

  • Cyrus the Great, Iranian emperor and the founder of Iran
  • Darius the Great, Iranian emperor
  • Mithridates I of Parthia, Iranian emperor
  • Ismail I, Iranian king
  • Fazlollah Noori, conservative clergy opposing Constitutionalists; hanged
  • Ghaem Magham Farahani, prime minister
  • Hassan-e-Sabbah, sectarian political leader
  • Kaveh the Blacksmith, mythical leader and liberator against the rule of Zahhak, an Arab king
  • Mahmud Khan Puladeen, senior military general
  • Maziar, son of Karan; leader of the Persian uprising against Arabs
  • Mirza Kuchek Khan, constitutionalist leader of Guilan
  • Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, Nader Shah's Chief Minister
  • Mirza Reza Kermani, assassinated Nasereddin Shah
  • Mohammad Khiabani, popular leader during Constitutionalist Revolution
  • Mohammad Mossadegh, prime minister
  • Mostowfi ol-Mamalek, prime minister
  • Nosrat Dowleh Firouz Mirza, provincial governor
  • Safi-ad-din Ardabili, spiritual founder of Safavid dynasty
  • Sattar Khan, constitutionalist leader
  • Heshmat Taleqani, Jangali leader and ally of Mirza Kuchek Khan
  • Abbas the Great

Modern (post-Qajar)

Pahlavi period

  • Abdol Hossein Hamzavi, Iranian diplomat, author and representative to the United Nations
  • Abdol Karim Ayadi, personal physician to Reza Pahlavi
  • Ali Akbar Davar, minister, and founder of Iran's modern judiciary system
  • Ali Akbar Siassi, Chancellor of Tehran University
  • Ali Gholi Ardalan, Iranian ambassador to the US, West Germany and the USSR
  • Amanullah Jahanbani, senior military leader, and father-in-law of Christiane Amanpour's father
  • Amir Abdollah Tahmasebi, military leader
  • Ardeshir Zahedi
  • Bahram Aryana, military commander
  • Ahmad Ahmadi, prison interrogator
  • Farokhroo Parsa, minister of education
  • George Malek-Yonan, procured a seat in Iran's Parliament for Assyrians as a recognized minority
  • Hasan Arfa, Army General, Ambassador to Russia, Ambassador to Turkey
  • Hassan Modarres, member of Parliament
  • Hassan Pakravan, head of SAVAK
  • Heidar Arfaa, Conseiller d'État, Minister of Agriculture, Député-Majlis Fars province
  • Hossein Fardoust, deputy head of SAVAK
  • Hossein Fatemi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Hushang Ansary, Minister of Finance, President of NIOC
  • Karim Buzarjomehri, Army General military aide of Reza Shah, Mayor of Tehran
  • Mahmoud Jafarian, head of National Iranian Radio and Television and Pars News Agency
  • Mahmoud Khayami, industrialist
  • Mahmud Mahmud, politician
  • Manucher Mirza Farman Farmaian, director of sales for NIOC and Ambassador to Venezuela
  • Mohammad Ali Keshavarz Sadr, Mossadegh's Deputy and a leader of the Second National Front
  • Nader Jahanbani, air force general, pilot
  • Nasser Moghaddam, head of SAVAK
  • Nematollah Nassiri, head of SAVAK
  • Abbas Mirza Farman Farmaian, Minister of Parliament
  • Sattareh Farman Farmaian, established first social worker schools in Iran
  • Sepahbod Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi, military leader
  • Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee
  • Shapour Bakhtiar, prime minister
  • Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari
  • Teymour Bakhtiar, head of SAVAK
  • Abdolhossein Teymourtash, Iranian statesman
  • Mirza Javad Khan Ameri, Minister, MP

Served in Islamic Republic government

See also: List of current Iranian officials
  • Abdolkarim Mousavi-Ardabili
  • Abdollah Noori, minister of interior
  • Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, government spokesman
  • Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari, minister of interior
  • Abolhassan Banisadr, president
  • Ahmad Jannati, chair of Council of Guardians
  • Ahmad Khatami
  • Ahmad Khomeini
  • Ahmad Tavakkoli, minister of labour
  • Akbar Torkan, minister of roads and transportation
  • Ala'eddin Boroujerdi, member of parliament
  • Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president
  • Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, member of parliament
  • Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, speaker of parliament
  • Ali Akbar Salehi
  • Ali Fallahian, minister of intelligence
  • Ali Khamenei, supreme leader
  • Ali Larijani, president of IRIB
  • Ali Meshkini, chair of Assembly of Experts
  • Ali Movahhedi-Kermani
  • Ali Shamkhani, minister of defence
  • Ali Younessi, minister of information
  • Alireza Noori, member of parliament
  • Asadollah Lajevardi
  • Ata’allah Hakimi [fa]
  • Ata'ollah Mohajerani, minister of culture and Islamic guidance
  • Ayatollah Amini, deputy chair of Assembly of Experts
  • Ayatollah Mohammadi-Gilani
  • Ayatollah Sane'i
  • Ayatollah Va'ez-Tabasi
  • Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi
  • Behzad Nabavi, vice speaker of parliament
  • Bizhan Namdar-Zangeneh, minister of oil
  • Ebrahim Asgharzadeh
  • Ebrahim Yazdi, foreign minister of interim government
  • Elaheh Koulai, member of parliament
  • Emad Afrough, member of parliament
  • Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, member of parliament
  • Fatemeh Haghighatjou, member of parliament
  • Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, speaker of parliament
  • Gholam Hossein Elham
  • Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi, minister of intelligence
  • Habiballah Dahamardeh [fa]
  • Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri
  • Hadi Khamenei, member of parliament
  • Hamid Reza Assefi, foreign affairs spokesman
  • Hassan Habibi, first vice president
  • Hassan Rouhani, former president
  • Hojjatallah Firouzi [fa]
  • Hossein Shariatmadari
  • Iraj Fazel, minister of health
  • Izzatallah Akbari Talarpashti [fa]
  • Ezzatollah Zarghami, president of IRIB
  • Kamal Daneshyar, member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly
  • Kamal Kharrazi, minister of foreign affairs
  • Kazem Jalali, politician
  • Kazem Rajavi, politician
  • Kazem Seddiqi, politician
  • Lotfollah Forouzandeh (born 1961) Iranian Politician
  • Lotfallah Siahkali [fa]
  • Lotfallah Zara’i Qanawati [fa]
  • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president
  • Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, former chief justice
  • Majid Ansari, member of parliament
  • Manuchehr Eliasi, Jewish member of parliament
  • Masoud Pezeshkian, minister of health
  • Masoumeh Ebtekar, vice president
  • Mehdi Bazargan, prime minister
  • Mehdi Hashemi
  • Mehdi Karroubi, speaker of parliament
  • Mir-Hossein Mousavi, prime minister
  • Mohammad Abaee-Khorasani, member of parliament
  • Mohammad Ali Abtahi, vice president
  • Mohammad Ali Najafi, minister of education
  • Mohammad Ali Rajai, president
  • Mohammad Beheshti, head of judiciary
  • Mohammad Emami-Kashani
  • Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani
  • Mohammad Javad Bahonar, prime minister
  • Mohammad Javad Larijani, member of parliament
  • Mohammad Khatami, president
  • Mohammad Reyshahri
  • Mohammad Reza Aref, first vice president
  • Mohammad Reza Bahonar, vice speaker of parliament
  • Mohammad Reza Khatami, deputy speaker of parliament
  • Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani
  • Mohammad Sattarifar, vice president
  • Mohammad Yazdi, head of judiciary
  • Mohsen Armin, member of parliament
  • Mohsen Mirdamadi, member of parliament
  • Mohsen Nourbakhsh, head of Central Bank of Iran
  • Mohsen Rezaee, member of Expediency Discernment Council
  • Mohsen Safaee-Farahani, member of parliament and head of Iranian Football Federation
  • Mohseni-Ezhe'i
  • Moin al-Din Saeedi [fa]
  • Morteza Motahhari
  • Mostafa Chamran, Minister of Defense
  • Mostafa Tajzadeh, deputy minister of interior
  • Nasrollah Jahangard, chair of Supreme Council of ICT
  • Nimatallah Manuchehri [fa], Iranian Politician
  • Qodratallah Hamzeh [fa], Iranian politician
  • Qodratallah Hussaynipour [fa], Iranian Politician
  • Qodratallah Imani [fa]
  • Qodratallah Intazami [fa], Iranian politician
  • Ghodratollah Norouzi, Iranian politician
  • Rahim Safavi
  • Rahmatallah Firouzi Pourbadi [fa]
  • Rasoul Montajebnia, member of parliament
  • Ruhallah Abbaspour [fa], Iranian Politician
  • Ruhallah Baba’i Saleh [fa]
  • Ruhallah Hazratpour Talahieh [fa]
  • Ruhollah Hosseinian
  • Ruhallah Izadkhahzadeh [fa]
  • Ruhollah Khomeini, supreme leader, founder of the Islamic Republic
  • Ruhallah Motfikar Azad [fa]
  • Ruhallah Najabat [fa]
  • Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, minister of foreign affairs
  • Sadegh Khalkhali, Sharia ruler
  • Sadegh Larijani
  • Saeed Emami, vice minister of intelligence
  • Saeed Hajjarian, Tehran council member
  • Saeed Mortazavi
  • Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, head of Central Bank of Iran, Ambassador to United Kingdom
  • Waliallah Farzanah [fa], Iranian Politician
  • Zabihallah Azami Sardoui [fa], Iranian Politician
  • Zia-Allah Ezazi Maleki, Iranian Politician

Not served in Islamic Republic government or opposition

  • Abbas Amir-Entezam
  • Abdolrahman Ghasemlou
  • Abolghasem Kashani
  • Ahmad Zirakzadeh
  • Ali Shariati, sociologist
  • Ali Latifiyan, Iranian writer
  • Alireza Rajaei
  • Asghar Parsa
  • Azam Taleghani
  • Bijan Jazani
  • Dariush Forouhar
  • Ezzatollah Sahabi
  • Gholam-Hossein Sadighi
  • Habibollah Peiman
  • Hashem Aghajari
  • Jafar Pishevari
  • Mahmoud Taleghani
  • Mansoor Hekmat
  • Maryam Rajavi
  • Massoud Rajavi, militant opposition leader
  • Mehdi Khalaji
  • Mohsen Sazegara
  • Mousa Sadr
  • Nasser Zarafshan
  • Navvab Safavi, militant cleric
  • Parviz Varjavand
  • Roozbeh Farahanipour, founder of Marze Por Gohar
  • Shirin Ebadi, recipient of 2003 Nobel Peace Prize
  • Yadollah Sahabi

Politicians in other nations

  • Goli Ameri, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
  • Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan; half-Iranian (mother Nusrat Bhutto)
  • Nusrat Bhutto, former first lady of Pakistan
  • Jimmy Delshad, mayor of Beverly Hills, California
  • George Deukmejian, former Governor of California
  • Dan Halutz, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces
  • Saadat Khan, first Nawab of Oudh in India
  • Farah Karimi, Iranian female Dutch Member of Parliament[2]
  • Moshe Katsav, former President of Israel
  • Tahia Kazem, former first lady of Egypt, wife of President Gamal Abdel Nasser
  • Omid Nouripour, member of the German parliament (Bundestag), Germany
  • Ross Mirkarimi, former member of San Francisco City Council from Green Party; American of Iranian and Russian descent.
  • Reza Moridi, member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada
  • Shaul Mofaz, Israeli Minister of Transport and a Deputy Prime Minister, and former Minister of Defense
  • Darya Safai, member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.
  • Wajid Ali Shah, last Nawab of Oudh, disposed of by the British East India Company
  • Maryam Yazdanfar, member of the Swedish parliament (Riksdag), Sweden

Activists

  • Mahnaz Afkhami (born 1941), politician and human rights and women's rights activist, served in the Cabinet of Iran (1976–1978)
  • Neda Agha-Soltan (1983–2009), shot during the 2009 Iranian election protests; her name quickly became a rallying cry for the opposition
  • Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi (1858/9 – 1921), author and pioneer of the Persian women's movement in modern Iran
  • Shiva Nazar-Ahari, human-rights activist
  • Elham Modaressi (born 1990), artist and activist

Prisoners and detainees

  • Zahra Bani Ameri (1980–2007), physician, died in a prison in Hamedan after being arrested for breaching modesty laws by sitting in a park with her fiancée.
  • Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (born 1981), photographer, television actress, subject of a 2006 sex tape scandal in Iran
  • Zeynab Jalaliyan, Kurdish prisoner
  • Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer, who according to the medical examiner was raped, tortured and killed by Iranian officials following her arrest in Iran.
  • Hossein Rajabian, imprisoned filmmaker
  • Nasser Fahimi, a doctor from Kurdistan, a political and ideological prisoner
  • Mehdi Rajabian, imprisoned musician

Literature figures

Authors and poets

Main article: Persian literature

Translators

Religious figures

See also: List of maraji and List of ayatollahs
  • Majlesi
  • The Báb, Prophet-Founder of the Bábi Faith
  • Bahá'u'lláh, Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Centre of the Covenant of the Bahá'í Faith
  • Ganzibra Jabbar Choheili (1923–2014), head of the Mandaean community in Iran until his death in 2014.
  • Rishama Salah Choheili, Iranian Mandaean who is the current patriarch and head of the Mandaean community in Australia
  • Haik Hovsepian Mehr, bishop and Christian martyr
  • Jamal al-Din Asadabadi
  • Mani, founder of Manichaeism
  • Mazdak, Religious and Social Reformer
  • Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master born to Iranian immigrant parents
  • Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad, founder of the Druze
  • Muhammad ibn Ismail ad-Darazi
  • Mulla Sadra
  • Saeed Abedini, Iranian American Christian pastor
  • Safi-ad-din Ardabili
  • Salman the Persian
  • Zahed Gilani
  • Zayn al-Din Taybadi (died 1389) mystic and Sufi
  • Zoroaster, prophet
  • Imam Tawhidi, Australian Imam of Arabian and Iranian descent
  • Mullah Taha, An Iranian gay Shia cleric

Contemporary Shia Clergy

Contemporary Sunni Clergy

Royalty

Main articles: List of monarchs of Iran and List of royal consorts of Iran

Scientists, scholars, and academics

Main articles: List of pre-modern Iranian scientists and scholars and List of contemporary Iranian scientists, scholars, and engineers

Explorers and travellers

  • Ahmad ibn Rustah, 10th-century Persian explorer of Russia, Scandinavia and Arabia

Historians, archaeologists and Iranologists

  • Abbas Alizadeh
  • Abbas Amanat
  • Abdolhossein Zarinkoob
  • Ahmad Kasravi
  • Alireza Shapour Shahbazi
  • Badiozzaman Forouzanfar
  • Iraj Bashiri
  • Ezzatolah Neghban
  • Fereydun Adamiyat
  • Habiballah Esmaili
  • Hamdallah Mustawfi
  • Kaveh Farrokh
  • Majid Adibzadeh
  • Mehrdad Bahar
  • Mohammad Ali Eslami Nodooshan
  • Nasser Fakouhi
  • Sadegh Malek Shahmirzadi
  • Touraj Atabaki
  • Touraj Daryaee

Linguists

  • Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak
  • Ahmad Tafazzoli
  • Ali Akbar Abdolrashidi
  • Ehsan Yarshater
  • Jaleh Amouzgar
  • Mehrdad Bahar
  • Parviz Natel-Khanlari
  • Zabihollah Safa

Intellectuals and philosophers

  • See main list: List of pre-modern Iranian scientists and scholars
  • See main list: List of contemporary Iranian scientists, scholars, and engineers
  • Mirza Fath Ali Akhundzadeh
  • Mohammad-Ali Foroughi
  • Mostafa Malekian
  • Mirza Malkam Khan
  • Abbas Milani
  • Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari
  • Seyyed Hossein Nasr
  • Ali Shariati
  • Sadegh Zibakalam
  • Ali Abdolrezaei

Technology and computer engineering

  • Shahram Dabiri, lead producer responsible for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft
  • Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, former CEO of Expedia
  • Amir Taaki, hacker, computer programmer and early developer for Bitcoin
  • Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay
  • Rouzbeh Yassini, Early cable internet innovator.
  • Habib Zargarpour, visual effects specialist, video game art director

Sports

See also: Category:Iranian sportspeople
  • Mojtaba Abedini (born 1984), Olympic fencer
  • Yu Darvish, MLB baseball player for the Texas Rangers
  • Ariajasuru Hasegawa, professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Nagoya Grampus
  • Ali Azari Karki, footballer
  • Sardar Azmoun, soccer player, Iran's National Team player
  • Farhad Ghaemi, volleyball player, Iran's National Team player
  • Abbas Jadidi, wrestler, Olympic silver medalist
  • Abdollah Movahed, wrestler, Olympic gold medalist
  • Adel Kolahkaj, football player
  • Alex Agase, American football player
  • Ali Daei, football player, top international goalscorer, world record holder
  • Ali Karimi (footballer, born 1978)
  • Ali Karimi (footballer, born 1982)
  • Ali Karimi (footballer, born 1994)
  • Ali Parvin, football player and coach
  • Alireza Dabir, wrestler, Olympic gold medalist
  • Alireza Heidari, wrestler, Olympic bronze Mmdalist
  • Alireza Rezaei, wrestler, Olympic silver medalist
  • Taghi Rezaei, bodybuilder
  • Amir Abedzadeh, Iranian Football Player
  • Amir Reza Khadem, Olympic Bronze Medalist wrestler
  • Andre Agassi, tennis player; his father was Assyrian-Armenian
  • Arash Miresmaili, judo world champion
  • Aravane Rezaï, tennis player
  • Behdad Salimi, weightlifter World Champion
  • Bijan Kangarloo, cross-country skier
  • Ebrahim Javadi, wrestler, Olympic bronze medalist
  • Ehsan Ghaemmaghami, chess grandmaster
  • Ehsan Hadadi, discus thrower, Asian record holder
  • Elshan Moradi, chess grandmaster
  • Emamali Habibi Goudarzi, wrestler, first Iranian Olympic gold medalist (Melbourne 1956)
  • Emmanuel Agassi, boxer at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, father of Andre Agassi
  • Ezzatollah Pourghaz, Iranian-Turkmen Football Player
  • George Issabeg, boxer at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics
  • George Malek-Yonan, Iran's Champion of Champions in track & field and pentathlon
  • Ghasem Dehnavi, football player
  • Ghasem Hadadifar, football player
  • Ghasem Rezaei, wrestler
  • Hooman Tavakolian, Sport Diplomat and Lobbyist, Hall of Fame, wrestler
  • Hossein Rezazadeh, weightlifter, double Olympic champion (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004)
  • Javad Nekounam, football player
  • Khodadad Azizi, football player
  • Kianoush Rostami, weightlifter, world champion
  • Kimia Alizadeh, Taekwondo player, the first Iranian woman to win a medal at the Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro 2016)
  • Mahmoud Namjoo, weightlifter, Olympic silver medalist
  • Mahyar Monshipour, World Super Bantamweight Boxing Champion
  • Mansour Bahrami, tennis player
  • Mansour Barzegar, wrestler, Olympic silver medalist
  • Masoud Jokar, wrestler, Olympic silver medalist
  • Mehdi Haghizadeh, football player
  • Mehdi Mahdavikia, football player
  • Mehdi Taremi, Iranian Football Player
  • Mohammad Ali Fardin, wrestler and actor
  • Mohammad Khadem, wrestler
  • Mohammad Mousavi, volleyball player
  • Mohammad Nassiri, weightlifter, Olympic gold medalist
  • Mohammad Reza Heidarian, futsal player
  • Mohammad Reza Tupchi, wrestler
  • Rahman Rezaei, football player
  • Ramin Rezaeian, Iranian Football Player
  • Rasoul Khadem, Olympic gold medalist wrestler
  • Reza Shafiei, jiujitsu athlete
  • Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Iranian Football Player
  • Ruhollah Bigdeli, football player
  • Shima Mehri, Motorcycle Biker
  • Saeid Marouf, volleyball player
  • Shadi Paridar, chess Woman Grandmaster
  • Shawn Daivari, professional wrestler
  • Shoura Osipov, boxer at 1948 Olympics
  • T. J. Houshmandzadeh, NFL player
  • Vahid Hashemian, football player
  • Yossef Karami, Taekwondo world champion, Olympic bronze medalist
  • Andranik Teymourian, football player
  • Fereydoon Zandi, football player
  • Gholamreza Takhti, wrestler, Olympic gold medalist
  • Hadi Saei, taekwondo world champion, Olympic gold medalist
  • Hossein Tavakoli, weightlifter, Olympic gold medalist
  • Jaber Rouzbahani, basketball player
  • Khosrow Vaziri, professional wrestler
  • Leila Vaziri, swimmer, World Champion, world record holder
  • Vahid Shamsaei, futsal player, top international futsal goalscorer
  • Mika Zibanejad, ice hockey player for Ottawa Senators of the NHL
  • Daniel Rahimi, ice hockey player for San Jose Sharks of the NHL
  • Zabihollah Poursheib, Kurdish Iranian Martial Artist
  • Ali Targholizadeh, Football Executive

Iranian women

See separate articles: Persian woman and List of Persian women.

Military

Aviation

  • Abbas Doran, fighter pilot
  • Fereidoon Izadseta, Colonel of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
  • Houshang Seddigh
  • Jalil Zandi, fighter pilot
  • Manouchehr Khosrodad, general
  • Nader Jahanbani, general, distinguished fighter pilot
  • Shapour Azarbarzin, fighter pilot

Combat Veterans

Generals

  • Abdolrahim Mousavi
  • Ahmad Kazemi
  • Ahmad Meyghani
  • Ahmad Reza Pourdastan
  • Ali Abdollahi
  • Ali Fadavi
  • Ali Sayad Shirazi
  • Ali Shahbazi
  • Ali Shamkhani
  • Alireza Afshar
  • Alireza Sabahifard
  • Amir Ali Hajizadeh
  • Ataollah Salehi
  • Esmaeil Kousari
  • Esmail Qaani
  • Farzad Esmaili
  • Gholam Ali Rashid
  • Gholamhossein Gheybparvar
  • Habibollah Sayyari
  • Hassan Firouzabadi
  • Hossein Dehghan
  • Hossein Hassani Sa'di
  • Hossein Nejat
  • Hossein Salami
  • Kioumars Heydari
  • Mansour Sattari
  • Mohammad Ali Jafari
  • Mohammad-Hassan Nami
  • Mohammad Hejazi
  • Mohammad-Hossein Dadras
  • Mohammad Kazimi [fa]
  • Mohammad Jafar Asadi
  • Mohammad Pakpour
  • Mohammad Reza Zahedi
  • Mohammad Salimi
  • Mohsen Rezaee
  • Mostafa Izadi
  • Nasser Shabani
  • Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad
  • Qasem Soleimani
  • Yahya Rahim Safavi

War Martyrs

  • Abdolbaghi Darvish
  • Ahmad Keshvari
  • Ahmad Motevasselian
  • Ali Eghbali Dogahe
  • Hamid Taqavi
  • Hassan Abshenasan
  • Hasan Aghareb Parast
  • Hassan Shateri
  • Hossein Hamadani
  • Hossein Khalatbari
  • Hossein Kharrazi
  • Hossein Qajeyi
  • Javad Fakoori
  • Mehdi Bakeri
  • Mehdi Zeinoddin
  • Masoud Monfared Niyaki
  • Mohammad Ali Allahdadi
  • Mohammad Boroujerdi
  • Mohammad Hossein Fahmideh
  • Mohammad Ebrahim Hemmat
  • Mohammad Jamali-Paqaleh
  • Mohsen Gheytaslou
  • Mohsen Hojaji
  • Qodratollah Mansouri [fa]
  • Valiollah Fallahi

Misc

  • Alireza Afzalipour, businessman and philanthropist; founder of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
  • Alireza Azmandian, self-help motivational speaker
  • Ali Dashti, Iranian senator
  • Zahra Eshraghi, granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini and wife of Mohammad Reza Khatami
  • Ramezan Hajjimashhadi, lawyer
  • Eiman Jahangir, first Iranian-born man to be an astronaut
  • Amin Jazayeri, Iranian Dj and YouTuber in India
  • Mehran Karimi Nasseri, Iranian refugee who lived in the departure lounge of Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle Airport for many years.
  • Reza Zadeh, computer science

Afro-Iranians

  • Abdolreza Barzegari, footballer
  • Abdul Karim Farhani, Iranian Shia Cleric
  • Ali Firouzi, footballer and coach
  • Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri, Iranians Shia Cleric (Afro-Ahwazi Arab)
  • Mehrab Shahrokhi, footballer
  • Shanbehzadeh Ensemble, Iranian folk band
  • Dennis Walker, footballer of Afro-Iranian descent, first black player to play for Manchester United[8]

Iranians of Armenian Descent

See also: List of Armenian-Iranians
  • Alenush Terian, scientist
  • Andranik Eskandarian, footballer
  • Andranik Teymourian, footballer
  • Andre Agassi, tennis champion
  • Arefeh Mansouri, Inventor, Designer
  • Arakel of Tabriz, historian
  • Armik, flamenco guitarist and composer
  • Arsen Minasian, philanthropist, pharmacologist
  • Bogdan Saltanov, painter
  • Emmanuel Agassi, 1948 and 1952 Olympics boxer representing Iran; father of Andre Agassi
  • Gegard Mousasi, MMA fighter
  • George Bournoutian, historian
  • Haik Hovsepian Mehr, bishop and Christian martyr
  • Raffi, prominent writer
  • Hayk Bzhishkyan, Soviet military commander
  • Hovhannes Masehyan, diplomat and translator
  • Hrant Markarian, politician
  • Irene Zazians, actress
  • Ivan Galamian, violin teacher
  • Ivan Lazarevich Lazarev, jeweler
  • Khosrow Khan Gorji, influential figure from the Qajar era
  • Leon Khachatourian, boxer
  • Loris Tjeknavorian, artist
  • Marcos Grigorian artist, scholar and actor
  • Mirza Malkam Khan, modernist and politician
  • Mkhitar Heratsi, physician
  • Mushegh Soruri
  • Ovannes Ohanian, first Iranian film director
  • Robert Beglarian, MP
  • Samuel Khachikian, film director
  • Sarkis Djanbazian, artist
  • Sayat-Nova, poet
  • Vartan Gregorian, academic
  • Varuzh Karim-Masihi, film editor and director
  • Vigen Derderian, singer
  • Viguen (see Vigen Derderian)
  • Yeprem Khan, revolutionary hero

Iranians of Assyrian descent

See also: List of Assyrian-Iranians
  • Freydun Atturaya, co-founder of the Assyrian Socialist Party
  • George Issabeg, 1948 and 1952 Olympics boxer representing Iran
  • George Malek-Yonan, politician and Champion of Champions of Iran
  • Issa Benyamin, calligraphist
  • Ivan Kakovitch (1933–2006), activist and writer (novel Mount Semele (2001))
  • Milton Malek-Yonan, inventor of converted rice
  • Paulus Khofri, composer and painter
  • Ramona Amiri, Miss Canada 2005
  • Shoura Osipov, 1948 Olympics boxer representing Iran
  • Shoura Osipov, Olympic boxer
  • Mar Youhannan Semaan Issayi, Archbishop of Assyro-Chaldean Metropolitan Tehran

Emigrants and immigrants

Americans in Iran

See also: Category:American expatriates in Iran
  • Howard Baskerville, Iran's first American martyr
  • Joseph Gallup Cochran, American missionary in Urmia and Seer, translator
  • Joseph Plumb Cochran, second-generation American missionary in Urmia and medical doctor; established first Iranian medical college
  • Arthur Millspaugh, Treasury General, Persia
  • Arthur Upham Pope (1881–1969) and Phyllis Ackerman (1893–1977), Persian culture revivalists, scholars of Persian art and architecture history
  • David Stronach
  • Elgin Groseclose, Treasury General, Persia
  • John Limbert
  • Justin Perkins, first American resident of Iran (1835), Presbyterian missionary in Urmia.
  • Morgan Shuster, Treasury General, Persia
  • Richard Nelson Frye (1920–2014), former Harvard University professor, scholar of Persian art history
  • Samuel M. Jordan, namesake of Jordan Ave. in Tehran
  • William M. Miller

Germans in Iran

  • Annemarie Schimmel, German-born Harvard expert on Iranian literature
  • Wilhelm Wassmuss, German diplomat, spy and military hero, Iran, World War I

Iranians in America

See separate article: List of Iranian Americans.

Iranians in Canada

See article: Iranian-Canadian

Iranians in Britain

List of British Iranians

Iranians in Germany

Iranians in Germany

Iranians in Australia

Iranian Australian

Iranians in the Netherlands

Iranians in the Netherlands

Iranians in Finland

Iranians in Finland

Iranians in Sweden

Iranians in Sweden

Iranians in Egypt

  • Tahia Kazem, wife of president Gamal Abdel Nasser; born in Egypt to Iranian parents

Iranians in Pakistan

  • Nusrat Bhutto, Iranian father and mother moved with family to Karachi, British India, before partition; married Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; father of Benazir Bhutto

Persian Roman Catholic saints

See article List of Persian Roman Catholic saints

See also

  • List of Iran-related topics
  • List of people by nationality
  • Iranian peoples

References

  1. ^ "Mostafa Javadi Pour Moradi (Psychology) - PhilPeople". philpeople.org. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Shargh Newspaper" (in Persian). Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Dr. Alireza Norouzi".
  4. ^ "Alireza Norouzi – Encyclopédie Wikimonde Plus".
  5. ^ "Hamideh Jahangiri".
  6. ^ "Hamideh Jahangiri – Encyclopédie Wikimonde Plus".
  7. ^ "Dr. Alireza Norouzi – Encyclopédie Wikimonde Plus".
  8. ^ Hern, Bill; Gleave, David (30 October 2020). "Dennis Walker: Manchester United's first and only black Busby Babe". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2020.