Mahdi Zeinoddin ( fa, مهدی زین الدین; 1959–1984) was an Iranian

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

IRGC 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 ...

during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and 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 Security Council ...

and he was the commander of the Ali ibn Abi Taleb Division. He was killed during battle with secession-seeking forces on the 18th of November 1984 on the highway from

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

to Sardasht.

Early life

Mahdi Zeinoddin was born in

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 ...

on the 11th of October 1959. His father owned a bookstore and he spent most of his youth selling books and helping his father around the bookstore. His mother was a

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

teacher. During his high school years, he developed political views and established close ties with Ayatollah Asadollah Madani. He opposed the regime of

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

. At this time, his family were living in

Khorramabad Khorramabad ( fa, خرم‌آباد, Khorramâbâd ), alternatively romanized as Khorramābād, Khoramabad, Khurramabad, Khorram Abad, or Khur Ramābād, is a city and the capital of Lorestan Province, Iran. At the time of the 2016 census, its po ...

when his father was exiled to Saqqez due to his political activities. Here, he was expelled from the high school for refusing to join the

Rastakhiz Party The Party of Resurrection of the Iranian Nation ( fa, حزب رستاخیز ملت ایران) or simply Rastakhiz Party ( fa, حزب رستاخیز, Ḥezb-e Rastāḵiz, lit=Resurgence/Resurrection Party) was Iran's single legal political party ...

and for resisting against the

Pahlavi regime The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

. Despite this, he continued his education and earned a diploma in

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

. In 1977, he gave several university entrance exams and was accepted by

Shiraz University Shiraz University ( fa, دانشگاه شیراز ''Dāneshgāh-e-Shirāz'', formerly known as Pahlavi University دانشگاه پهلوی ''Dāneshgāh-e Pahlavi'') is a public university located in Shiraz, Fars, Iran, established in 1946. ...

. After a period of time, his father was banished to Fars Province once again. Once again, his family were exiled to

Saqqez Saqqez ( ; fa, سقز ; ), also known as Saghez, Saqez, Saqqiz, Saqiz, and Sakīz, is the capital city of Saqqez County in Kurdistan Province, in northwestern Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population was 165,258. Etymology The nam ...

due to his father's political activities and thus, he was unable to continue his studies. After a while, his father was once again exiled from Saqqez to

Eqlid Eqlid ( fa, اقليد, also Romanized as Eqlīd, Eklīd, and Iqlīd) is a city and capital of Eqlid County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 49,709, in 1,497 families. Eqlid is located 22 km west of the Expres ...

and as revolutionary activity had started, his father secretly moved to

Qom Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...

with his family. Along with other politically influential characters, Mahdi and his father continued their revolutionary efforts in Qom. Mahdi was accepted to a university in France, but he decided not to go after hearing that

Imam Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

was urging the youth to stay in Iran.

After the Iranian Revolution

Following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, Zeinoddin joined the intelligence section of the IRGC and was pivotal in quelling the enemies of the Revolution 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 ...

and Qom. During the Iran-Iraq War, Zeinoddin went to the front lines with a group of one hundred people after passing a short military course. After a while, he was elected as the head of the intelligence section and then he became the mission director of intelligence for the IRGC in

Dezful Dezful ( fa, دزفول, pronounced , Dezfuli dialect: Desfil, pronounced ) also Romanized as Dezfūl and Dezfool; also known as Dīzfūl and Ab I Diz is a city and capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its popul ...

and

Susangerd Susangerd ( fa, سوسنگرد also Romanized as Sūsangird or Sūsangurd), also known as al-Khafājiyah ( ar, الخفاجية), Dasht-e Āzādegān ( fa, دشت آزادگان) or Dasht-i-Mishān ( fa, دشت میشان), is a city in the Centra ...

. He was then elected as the commander of the 17th Ali ibn Abi Taleb Division. He participated in the following 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 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 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 the ...

Operation Muharram Operation Muharram (Persian: عملیات محرم) was an Iranian operation which was conducted during the Iran–Iraq War by the command of Hasan Bagheri. It was started on 1 November 1982 at 22:08 o'clock with the code of "La-Hawla wa La-Qowwa ...

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

On the 18th of November 1984, Mahdi Zeinoddin and his brother were travelling from Kermanshah to Sardasht when they were attacked by secession-seeking forces (Kurdish rebels) and they were both killed. He was buried in the fifth sector of the Gulzar-e Shuhada Cemetery in Qom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zein-eddin, Mahdi 1959 births 1984 deaths Iranian military personnel killed in the Iran–Iraq War Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel of the Iran–Iraq War Recipients of the Order of Fath People from Tehran

Early life

After the Iranian Revolution

Death

See also

References