List of Iranian defectors
This is a list of individuals who have defected from Iran.
Name | Occupation | Year | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kimia Alizadeh | athlete | 2020 | First woman from Iran to win an Olympic medal (Taekwondo) | [1] |
Saeid Mollaei | athlete | 2019 | Olympic judoka and 2018 world champion | [2] |
Pourya Jalalipour | athlete | 2019 | para-archer who qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo | [3] |
Farzad Farhangian | diplomat | 2010 | former press attache at the Iranian Embassy in Brussels | [4] |
Mohammad Reza Heydari | diplomat | 2010 | [4] | |
Hossein Alizadeh | diplomat | 2010 | [4] | |
Shahram Amiri | nuclear scientist | 2009 | returned to Iran in 2010; executed by Iranian government 2016 “for revealing top secrets to the enemy” | [5] |
Ahmad Rezaee | 1998 | eldest son of Iranian conservative politician and senior military officer Mohsen Rezaee; found dead in 2011 at a Dubai Hotel, possible assassination | [6] | |
Abdolghassem Mesbahi | intelligence operative | 1996 | [7] | |
Marzieh | singer | 1994 | [8] | |
Mehdi Rezvani | athlete | 1986 | weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea; won the bronze medal at the 242-pound class | [9] |
Samad Montazeri | athlete | 1986 | weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea | [9] |
Siamak Bajand | athlete | 1986 | weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea | [9] |
Ardhir Bahmanyar | athlete | 1986 | weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea | [9] |
Ali Akbar Mohammadi | pilot | 1986 | former pilot for the speaker of Iran's Parliament, Hashemi Rafsanjani; assassinated in Hamburg, Germany, in 1987 | [10] |
iraj Fazeli | pilot | 1983 | Due to his opposition to the regime of the Islamic Republic, he first went to Van in Turkey with the Northrop F-5 (a week later the plane returned). Lieutenant Iraj Fazeli went to the United States and disappeared in the United States in 1989.[11][12] | |
Keyhan Jahanfakhr | pilot | 1982 | [13] | |
Parviz Khazai | diplomat | 1982 | chargé d'affaires at Iran's Embassy in Oslo | [14] |
Reza Abedi | athlete | 1982 | wrestler | [15] |
Ardeshir Asgari | athlete | 1982 | wrestler | [15] |
Askeyhan Jahanfakhr | pilot | 1982 | Iranian airline pilot; applied for political asylum in Austria after piloting his Iran Air Boeing 727 on a flight from Tehran | [16] |
Seyyed Jabbar Mehdiyoun | athlete | 1982 | wrestler; defected during the 1982 World Wrestling Championships in Edmonton, Canada | [17] |
Mohammad Hossein Naghdi | diplomat | 1982 | charge d'affaires at Iran's Embassy in Rome; assassinated in Rome in 1993 | [18][19] |
Javad Hussain | military | 1981 | Iranian Air Force colonel | [20] |
References
- ^ "The only woman to win an Olympic medal for Iran just defected". The Washington Post. January 12, 2020.
- ^ "Judo world champion granted Mongolian citizenship after fleeing Iran". NBC Sports. 2 December 2019.
- ^ "Another Iranian Athlete Refuses To Return Home; Applying For Asylum Iran". Radio Farda. 5 September 2019.
- ^ a b c "Iranian diplomats' defections signal fissures in Islamic Republic leaders over election unrest". AP. September 14, 2010.
- ^ "How an Iranian's Spy Saga Ends, 6 Years Later: He's Executed". The New York Times. August 7, 2016.
- ^ Sciolino, Elaine (2001). Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran. Simon & Schuster. pp. 287–288. ISBN 0-7432-1779-9.
- ^ "Iran Blew Up Jewish Center In Argentina, Defector Says". The New York Times. July 22, 2002.
- ^ "Marzieh, Iranian Singer and Voice of Dissent, Dies at 86". The New York Times. October 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Iranian Weightlifters Missing, Reported Defected to Iraq". AP. October 3, 1986.
- ^ "Former Pilot for Iran's Parliament Speaker Slain". AP. January 16, 1987.
- ^ "Перебежчики "холодной войны"". www.airwar.ru. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ "Быстрое изучение английских слов. Мнемотехника". mnemoenglish.ru. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ Iranian Air Pilot Defects. Associated Press. The Victoria Advocate 18 October 1982: 7A.
- ^ "Iranian Aide Defects in Oslo". The New York Times. Reuters. October 8, 1982.
- ^ a b "Reza Abedi's Greatest Escape". OC Weekly. May 12, 2011.
- ^ "Iran Pilot Defects in Vienna". The New York Times. Reuters. October 18, 1982.
- ^ "An Iranian wrestler who defected during the World Wrestling..." UPI. August 18, 1982.
- ^ "Iranian official quits over Khomeini rule". UPI. April 19, 1982.
- ^ "Iranian Is Killed in Rome By 2 Gunmen on a Scooter". The New York Times. March 17, 1993.
- ^ "Turkey Weighs Asylum For Iran Air Force Defector". The New York Times. March 18, 1981.