10 Facts About Mehdi Rahimi

Mehdi Rahimi was executed following the 1979 revolution in Iran.

Mehdi Rahimi was born in 1921, in Tehran, Qajar Iran.

Mehdi Rahimi was a lieutenant general and the last military commander and the chief of police of Tehran during the final days of the Pahlavi dynasty and before Tehran fell to the revolutionary forces of the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution.

General Mehdi Rahimi decided not to use his 30,000 loyal Immortal Guards to crush the rebellion for fear of producing civilian casualties.

Shortly after the Islamic Revolution in February 1979 and the takeover of all military bases and police stations by the pro-Khomeini Islamists, Mehdi Rahimi was spotted by a subordinate as he was walking away from a military base near Sepah Square and arrested.

Mehdi Rahimi was executed by a firing squad at midnight just before 16 February 1979, on the rooftop of Refah School, which was used as a temporary residence by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Mehdi Rahimi refused to be blindfolded and stated that he wanted to die like a general loyal to his commander-in-chief.

Mehdi Rahimi's first wife was a French woman, and they divorced.

Mehdi Rahimi was survived by his second wife, Manijeh, who settled in London.

Mehdi Rahimi was sister of Parviz Fatemi, widow of Hossein Fatemi.