Mehdi Bakeri ( fa, مهدی باکری‎; 1954 – 16 March 1985) was an Iranian war hero in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the

University of Tabriz The University of Tabriz ( fa, دانشگاه تبريز, ''Danushgah-e Tebriz'') is a public university located in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It is one ...

. During the Iranian revolution of 1979 he joined the protesters. After the beginning of the

he joined to the

Sepah The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

. He became martyr in a combat by Iraqi troops in southern Iraq.

Early life

Bakeri was born in

Miandoab Miandoab ( fa, مياندوآب) is a city and capital of Miandoab County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 135,880, in 38,704 families. Demographics Miandoab is largely populated by Azerbaijanis. Geography ...

, West Azerbaijan Province in a religious

Iranian Azerbaijani Iranian Azerbaijanis (; az, ایران آذربایجانلیلاری, italics=no ), also known as Iranian Azeris, Iranian Turks, Persian Turks or Persian Azerbaijanis, are Iranians of Azerbaijani ethnicity who may speak the Azerbaijani lang ...

family. He lost his mother when he was a child. His brother actively participated in opposition groups that opposed the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

's regime and finally was killed by the regime. Bakeri might have entered these groups through his brother. After graduating from high school he was accepted by the

in Mechanical Engineering. When he entered the university, he continued his activities against the regime. Bakeri and his friends played an important role in holding protests against regime in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

. According to classified documents, he was under surveillance of West Azerbaijan's SAVAK.

Career

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution and formation of the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

, he joined this institution. Bakeri served as mayor for nine months and later as the public prosecutor of Urmia, West Azerbaijan. His wedding party was the same day as the start of

. He left his family to join the Iranian forces in the battlefront just two days later. He was appointed as the commander of the 31st Ashura Division, and showed great courage and bravery in combat against the Iraqi forces.

Operations

Bakeri participated in several operations: *

Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas ( fa, عملیات بیت‌المقدس) or Operation Toward Beit-ol-Moqaddas () was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation was a success, as it achieved its standing aim of libera ...

Operation Dawn (1983) Operation Dawn-1 (also known as Operation Valfajr-1) was an Iranian offensive in the Iran–Iraq War. On April 10, 1983, Iran struck Ayn Al-Qaws with the immediate objective of Al-Fakkah Field (east of al-Amarah) to capture the Baghdad-Basra Hi ...

Operation Dawn 2 Operation Dawn 2 or Operation Valfajr-2 ( fa, عملیات والفجر 2) was an Iranian operation during the eight-year-long Iran–Iraq War. This operation opened a new front in northern Iraq/Iraqi Kurdistan also known as "the Northern Front". ...

Operation Dawn 3 Operation Dawn 3 or Operation Valfajr-3 (Persian: عملیات والفجر-۳) was an operation during Iran–Iraq War which was commenced on 3 August 1983 at 23 o'clock with the operation code of "Ya Allah" (Persian/Arabic: یاالله). This ...

Operation Dawn 4 Operation Dawn 4 ( fa, عملیات والفجر 4) was an Iranian operation of the Iran–Iraq War launched in October 1983. At the end of the operation Iran had captured a small amount of territory from the Iraqis. Units of Iraq's 1st Corps s ...

* Operation Fath ol-Mobin *

Operation Kheibar Operation Kheibar was an Iranian offensive in the Iran–Iraq War. It was part of the Battle of the Marshes. Prelude After the unsuccessful major offensive named Operation Dawn V aimed directly at Basra, Iran opened a front at the lakes of th ...

Operation Ramadan Operation Ramadan was an Iranian offensive in the Iran–Iraq War that consisted of three separate attacks that lasted for 6 weeks. It was launched by Iran on 13 July 1982 near Basra and featured the use of human wave attacks in the largest land ...

Death

Operation Badr (1985) Operation Badr was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War against the forces of Ba'athist Iraq. The Iranians launched their offensive on March 11 and succeeded in capturing a part of the Basra- Amarah-Baghdad highway. The follow ...

, like most of the time, he was in the most dangerous region of the battlefront. He got martyred by Iraqi troops north of the Iraqi city of

Al-Qurnah Al-Qurnah (Kurnah or Qurna, meaning connection/joint in Arabic) is a town in southern Iraq about 74 km northwest of Basra, that lies within the conglomeration of Nahairat. Qurna is located at the confluence point of the Tigris and Euphrates riv ...

. The boat which was carrying his corpse, sunk in the river of Tigris after being hit by an Iraqi RPG. His body was never found.

Memorial

He is highly revered as one of the greatest

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian war heroes. Bakeri Expressway, in western

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, has been named after him.

Tractor Stadium Tractor Stadium or Tractor's Shahid Bakeri Stadium is a stadium in Tabriz, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches Tractor Academy and training ground for the Tractor. The stadium holds 7,000 people and renovated in 2011 by Ira ...

, in

, has also been renamed after him as "Tractor's Shahid Bakeri Stadium".

In popular culture

The Situation of Mehdi

'' The Situation of Mehdi'' is a 2022 film about Mehdi Bakeri, directed by

Hadi Hejazifar Hadi Hejazifar (Persian: هادی حجازی‌فر‎, born June 21, 1976) is an Iranian actor, director and screenwriter. for his performances in the films ''Standing in the Dust'' (2016), '' Midday Adventures'' (2017), ''Lottery'' (2018) and ...

and written by Hejazifar & Ebrahim Amini. The film won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Film, Best First Film, Best Original Score, Best Sound Recording and Best Special Effects at the

40th Fajr Film Festival The 40th Fajr Film Festival ( Persian: چهلمین دوره جشنواره فیلم فجر‎) held from 1 to 11 February 2022 in Tehran, Iran. The nominees for the 40th Fajr Film Festival were announced on February 10, 2022, at a press conferen ...

. It scored the most nominations—14—and has received 5 awards (the most wins).

References

External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakeri, Mahdi Iranian military personnel killed in the Iran–Iraq War Iranian prosecutors 1954 births 1985 deaths University of Tabriz alumni People from Miandoab Recipients of the Order of Fath Mayors of places in Iran People from Urmia Imperial Iranian Army conscripted personnel