List of Iranians

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

In the news

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, former Mayor of Tehran, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly
Ali Dizaei, former senior officer in the London Metropolitan Police
Anousheh Ansari, Iranian-American first female space tourist in the world, telecommunication entrepreneur and namesake of the Ansari X Prize
Bahar Soomekh, Iranian-American actress
Camila Batmanghelidjh, Iranian-Belgian 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, journalist and writer
Hossein Ronaghi, human rights activist

Artists

Calligraphists

Gholam Hossein Amirkhani
Abolhassan Etessami
Fakhr Jahan Khanum
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

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

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

Hossein Amanat
Kamran Diba
Heydar Ghiaï-Chamlou
Fariborz Sahba

Fashion designers

Pegah Anvarian (born 1974), Iranian-born American fashion designer, based in Los Angeles
Bijan
Shirin Guild, Iranian-born British fashion designer
Mike Amiri, American fashion designer and the founder and creative director of the fashion house AMIRI
Arefeh Mansouri (born 1980), Iranian-Canadian fashion and costume designer

Behnaz Sarafpour (born 1969), Iranian-born American couture fashion designer, based in New York City

Mahla Zamani (1950-2023), fashion designer, journalist; expert on traditional Iranian clothing

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, American entrepreneur
Nasser David Khalili, British billionaire and art collector
Afsaneh Beschloss (born 1956), Iranian-born American former treasurer of the World Bank, economist, entrepreneur, and investor, CEO of RockCreek, an investment firm that she founded
Mandana Dayani (born 1982), Iranian-American businesswoman and media executive
Fatemeh Moghimi (born 1958), engineer, entrepreneur, and political activist
Shahrzad Rafati (born 1979), Iranian-Canadian CEO of BroadbandTV Corp (BBTV)
Maryam Rofougaran (born 1968), Iranian-American electrical engineer, CEO and co-founder of Innovent Systems, Inc. and Movandi; member of the CNBC CEO Council
Sheherazade Semsar-de Boisséson (born 1968), French-Iranian

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
Moshtari Khanum
Nima Kiann
Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam, folkloric

Models, beauty pageant

Nazanin Afshin-Jam (born 1979), Iranian-Canadian actress, singer-songwriter, human-rights activist; Miss World 2003 first runner-up; Miss Canada 2003
Ramona Amiri, Iranian-Canadian Miss Canada 2005
Sara Nicole Andersen (born 1992), Norwegian-Iranian Miss Universe Norway 2012
Sahar Biniaz (born 1986), Persian-Canadian Miss Universe Canada 2012
Mahlagha Jaberi (born 1989), Iranian-American influencer and Instagram model
Aylar Lie (born 1984), Iranian-born Norwegian actress, model, singer, former pornographic actress
Melika Razavi, Iranian-South African Miss Iran 2016, Miss Global Fitness 2016, and Miss Power Woman 2017
Apameh Schönauer (born 1984), German-Iranian Miss Germany 2024
Shermine Shahrivar (born 1982), Iranian-German Miss Germany 2004, Miss Europe 2005
Samantha Tajik (born 1983), Iranian-Canadian Miss Universe Canada 2008

Film actors

Akbar Abdi
Alan Mehdizadeh, British-Iranian actor
Ali Mosaffa
Ali Nassirian
Amin Hayaee
Amirhossein Arman
Artemis Pebdani, American actress
Asghar Farhadi
Azita Hajian
Bahar Soomekh (born 1975), Iranian-born American actress, Crash and Saw III
Bahram Radan
Behrouz Vossoughi
Behzad Farahani
Bijan Daneshmand
Bita Farrahi
Bizhan Emkanian
Catherine Bell (born 1968), British-American actress, JAG, half Iranian
Christiane Amanpour, British-Iranian journalist and television host
Daryoush Arjmand
Daryush Shokof
Davoud Rashidi
Delkash
Elnaaz Norouzi, German actress
Ezzatollah Entezami
Faramarz Gharibian
Farimah Farjami, Iranian and French actress
Fatemeh Motamed-Aria
Golab Adineh
Golshifteh Farahani (born 1983), Iranian-French actress
Googoosh (born 1950), actress, singer, songwriter
Hamed Behdad
Hedyeh Tehrani (born 1972), actress
Homa Rousta
Homayoun Ershadi
Jahangir Forouhar
Jamileh Sheykhi
Jamshid Mashayekhi
Kamshad Kooshan, Iranian-born American actor
Kazem HajirAzad
Khosrow Shakibaee
Leila Forouhar
Leila Hatami (born 1972), actress, was in the Academy Award-winning film A Separation
Mahaia Petrosian

Mahnaz Afshar (born 1978), Iranian-born German actress
Majid Majidi
Mandana Karimi
Maz Jobrani, American comedian and actor
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 (born 1971), actress, film director, and screenwriter
Omid Ahangar
Parsa Pirouzfar
Parviz Fannizadeh
Parviz Parastouee
Parviz Sayyad
Pegah Ahangarani
Reza Kianian
Reza Rahardian, Indonesian actor, model, singer, director, and radio announcer
Roxanne Pallett, English actress, television personality, and broadcaster
Roya Nonahali
Saeed Rad
Sam Asghari, Iranian-American model and actor
Sarah Shahi (born 1980), American actress and former cheerleader, of Iranian-Spanish ancestry
Shaghayegh Farahani
Shahab Hosseini

Shohreh Aghdashloo (born 1952), Iranian-American actress, Oscar nominee 2003 for House of Sand and Fog
Sussan Taslimi, Iranian-Swedish film and theatre actress, director and screenwriter
Taraneh Alidousti
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (born 1981), Iranian-French actress and social photographer

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

Classical

Iranian classical traditional

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

Modern traditional

Ahmad Pejman
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
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 (born 1983), Iranian–American singer-songwriter
Arash
Aref
Arian Band
Benyamin Arefi
Bijan Mortazavi
Darius Danesh
Dariush Eghbali
Delkash (1925–2004; also known as Esmat Bagherpour Baboli), singer and actress
Ebi
Faramarz Aslani
Farhad
Fereidoun Foroughi
Googoosh
Habib
Hassan Sattar
Hassan Shamaizadeh
Hayadeh
Homeyra
Ilya Salmanzadeh
Kouros
Leila Forouhar (born 1959), pop and classical singer, based in Los Angeles
Mahasti (1946–2007), Persian classical, folk, and pop music singer; lived in California
Mansour
May J.
Mehrdad
Moein
Mohammad Esfahani
Mohammad Nouri
Pyruz
Reza Sadeghi
Sepideh (born 1975), Iranian-American singer
Sevdaliza
Siavash Ghomeyshi
Shahkar Binesh Pazhooh
Shahram Shabpareh
Shahrum K
Shohreh Solati (born 1957), Iranian–American singer
Snoh Aalegra
Susan Roshan
Toofan
Vigen
Leila Arab (born 1971), musician, record producer and DJ based in London
Roya Arab (born 1967), Iranian-British musician, archaeologist, singer and songwriter
Hayedeh (1942–1990; also known as Ma'soumeh Dadehbala), pop and classical singer; lived in Los Angeles
Anousheh Khalili (born 1983), Iranian–American singer-songwriter
Laleh Pourkarim (born 1982), Iranian–Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, actress
Rita (born 1962; Rita Jahanforuz), Iranian-born Israeli singer and actress, represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
Shakila (born 1962), Iranian–American singer, winner of Persian Academy Award (2006); based in San Diego, California

Rap music

Amir Tataloo
Hichkas
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 (born 1958), British–Iranian, CNN's chief international correspondent
Ebrahim Nabavi
Emadeddin Baghi
Farjam Behnam
Farrokhi Yazdi, Pahlavi era
Hashem Aghajari
Hossein Shariatmadari
Mostafa Javadi Pour Moradi
Kaveh Golestan, BBC
Kioumars Saberi Foumani
Mahshid Amirshahi
Masih Alinejad (born 1976), Iranian-American journalist, author, and political activist critical of the status of human and women's rights in Iran
Masoud Dehnamaki
Massoud Behnoud
Mehran Ghassemi
Mirzadeh Eshghi
Hossein Rajabian
Mohammad Taghi Bahar
Nikahang Kowsar
Omid Memarian
Mohammad Mosaed
Rudi Bakhtiar (born 1966), Iranian-American television news anchor
Saeed Hajjarian
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Shadi Sadr (born 1974), feminist activist, lawyer and journalist, based in the United Kingdom
Sina Motallebi
Youness Shokrkhah
Maziar Bahari
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Kasra Nouri, journalist and political activist
Camelia Entekhabifard (born 1973), Iranian-American journalist and author
Faezeh Hashemi (born 1963), journalist, women rights activist, and former member of Iranian parliament
Atoosa Rubenstein (born 1972), Iranian-American founder and editor of CosmoGirl magazine; editor of Seventeen
Roxana Saberi (born 1977), American journalist for CBS News, imprisoned in Evin Prison and sentenced to 8-year prison term under accusations of espionage, released after 101 days
Iran Teymourtash (1914–1991), journalist and early activist; daughter of Abdolhossein Teymourtash

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

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

Abdolkarim Mousavi-Ardabili, reformist politician and Twelver shi'a marja
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, member of Guardian Council andof the Assembly of Experts
Ahmad Khomeini, Custodian of the Mausoleum of 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, academic, diplomat and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
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'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
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
Hossein Shariatmadari
Iraj Fazel, minister of health
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
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, mathematician, and murderer
Mohammad Ali Rajai, president
Mohammad Beheshti, head of judiciary
Mohammad Emami-Kashani, member of the Assembly of Experts
Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani, member of the Expediency Discernment Council
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
Morteza Motahhari
Mostafa Chamran, Minister of Defense
Mostafa Tajzadeh, deputy minister of interior
Nasrollah Jahangard, chair of Supreme Council of ICT
, Iranian Politician
, Iranian politician
, Iranian Politician
, Iranian politician
Ghodratollah Norouzi, Iranian politician
Rahim Safavi
Rasoul Montajebnia, member of parliament
, Iranian Politician
Ruhollah Hosseinian
Ruhollah Khomeini, supreme leader, founder of the Islamic Republic
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
, Iranian Politician
, 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

Haleh Afshar (1941–2022; also known as the Baroness Afshar), Iranian-British life peer in the House of Lords, professor at the University of York
Raumesh Akbari (born 1984), Iranian-American and Black politician and lawyer, Tennessee State Representative
Goli Ameri, Iranian-American 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, Iranian-Pakistani former first lady of Pakistan, 2nd chairperson of the social democratic Pakistan People's Party (1979–84), Senior Minister of Pakistan (1989–90)
Jimmy Delshad, Iranian-American mayor of Beverly Hills, California
George Deukmejian, American former Governor of California
Dan Halutz, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces
Saadat Khan, first Nawab of Oudh in India
Anna Kaplan (née Monahemi), Iranian-born American, member of the New York State Senate
Farah Karimi, Iranian-Dutch female Dutch Member of Parliament
Moshe Katsav, former President of Israel
Tahia Kazem, former first lady of Egypt, wife of President Gamal Abdel Nasser
Omid Nouripour, German-Iranian member of the German parliament (Bundestag), Germany
Ross Mirkarimi, American 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, Iranian-born Belgian member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.
Wajid Ali Shah, last Nawab of Oudh, disposed of by the British East India Company
Maryam Yazdanfar, Iranian-Swedish 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, journalist, co-founder of Committee of Human Rights Reporters, jailed several times in Evin Prison, moved to Slovenia
Elham Modaressi (born 1990), artist and activist
Asra Panahi (2007–2022), fifteen-year-old girl beaten and killed during the Mahsa Amini protests
Maryam Rajavi (born 1953), President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran; leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, lives in France
Shadi Sadr (born 1974), lawyer, human rights advocate, essayist and journalist, incarcerated in Evin Prison, lives in Germany
Azadeh Shahshahani (born 1979), Iranian–American human rights lawyer and former president of the National Lawyers Guild
Shahla Sherkat (born 1956), writer, publisher, editor; a pioneer of the women's movement in modern Iran
Nasrin Sotoudeh (born 1963), human rights lawyer for opposition activists, women protesting mandatory hijab laws, juveniles facing the death penalty, and politicians; imprisoned multiple times in Evin Prison and Qarchak Prison, served a 3-year term, was re-arrested to serve an accumulated 38-year sentence.
Iran Teymourtash (1914–1991), journalist and early activist; daughter of Abdolhossein Teymourtash; moved to France
Elham Youssefian (born c. 1980/81), Iranian-American human rights lawyer and disability rights advocate

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.
Mahsa Amini (1999–2022), was arrested by the Guidance Patrol for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards, and died in police custody in Vozara Detention Center amid assertions of police brutality
Marziyeh Amirizadeh (born 1979), Iranian-American author imprisoned in Evin Prison and sentenced to execution by hanging for converting to Christianity; later tortured, and released after 259 days.
Zahra Bahrami (1965–2011), dual Dutch and Iranian citizen arrested during a political protest, imprisoned in Evin Prison, and later convicted for drug trafficking and executed by hanging
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (born 1981), photographer, television actress, subject of a 2006 sex tape scandal in Iran
Nasser Fahimi, a doctor from Kurdistan, a political and ideological prisoner
Zeynab Jalaliyan (born 1982), Kurdish prisoner, initially sentenced to death for "enmity against God" (moharebeh) due to alleged political alignment with Kurdish groups, held in Yazd Central Prison since 2008
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.
Sharifeh Mohammadi (born 1979), social activist and political prisoner sentenced to death, held in Lakan Prison
Verisheh Moradi (born c. 1985/86), political prisoner and women's rights activist sentenced to death and imprisoned in Sanandaj Prison and Evin Prison since 2023
Taraneh Mousavi (1981–2009), arrested for protesting the 2009 election results, died after being sexually abused while in custody
Hossein Rajabian, imprisoned filmmaker
Mehdi Rajabian, imprisoned musician
Zahra Tabari (born c. 1958), electrical engineer and activist sentenced to death by hanging on charges of "armed rebellion" after she was found to possess a cloth printed with the "Woman, Life, Freedom" slogan, held in Lakan Prison since 2025

Literature figures

Authors and poets

See main list: List of Persian-language poets and authors
Adam Khaze, author, researcher
Jamshid Behnam, author
Allameh Dehkhoda, author
Mahyar Amouzegar, Iranian-American author, academic
Badiozzaman Forouzanfar, author
Mohammad-Taqi Bahar, author
Parviz Natel-Khanlari, author
Sadeq Hedayat, author
Shahrokh Meskoob, author
, academic, author
Ali Abdolrezaei, Iranian-British author
, academic, author
Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, author
, academic, author
Levon Davidian, academic, author
, academic, author
Saeed Nafisi, author
Hassan Kamshad, academic, author
, academic, author
Abbas Shafiee, academic, author
Mohammad Moin, author
Alireza Norouzi, academic, author
Ahmad Kasravi, author
Karim Emami, author
Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh
Sadeq Hedayat
Nazi Safavi
, academic, author
Shahriyar Mandanipour, writer, journalist and literary theorist
, academic, author
Reza Ghassemi ,novelist, composer, and setar player
Zoya Pirzad, writer and novelist
, academic, author
, academic, author
Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, writer and actor
, academic, author
Hamideh Jahangiri, academic, author
Bahman Forsi
, academic, author
Houshang Golshiri
Reza Baraheni
, academic, author
Abbas Maroufi
Bozorg Alavi
, academic, author
Majid M. Naini, author

Bahram Sadeghi
Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi
Ghazaleh Alizadeh
Ahmad Mahmoud
Jalal Al-e-Ahmad
, academic, author
Javad Nurbakhsh, academic, author
Simin Daneshvar, academic, novelist, fiction writer, and translator.
Ebrahim Golestan
Bahman Sholevar, Iranian-American novelist, poet, translator, critic, psychiatrist and political activist

Sadeq Chubak, author of short fiction, drama, and novels
, academic, author

Mahnaz Afkhami (born 1941), writer, politician, women's rights activist
Mana Aghaee (born 1973), Iranian-Swedish poet, translator, and bibliographer
Mina Assadi (born 1943), Iranian-Swedish poet and author; winner of the Hellman/Hammett award from Human Rights Watch in 1996
Camila Batmanghelidjh (1963–2024), Iranian-Belgian psychotherapist, author
Najmieh Batmanglij (1947), Iranian-American cookbook author
Simin Behbahani (1927–2014), poet, 1997 Nobel Prize nominee
Sahar Delijani (born 1983), Iranian-American widely translated novelist; author of Children of the Jacaranda Tree; living between the United States and Italy
Forough Farrokhzad (1934–1967), modernist poet and film director

Rabe'e Ghazdari, poet, 10th century
Roya Hakakian (born 1966), Iranian-American writer, journalist, and poet
Porochista Khakpour (born 1978), Iranian-American novelist
Mahsati (c. 1089–1159), medieval poet
Leandra Medine (born 1988), American author, blogger, and humor writer best known for Man Repeller
Azadeh Moaveni (born 1976), Iranian-American writer and journalist
Azar Nafisi (born 1948), Iranian-American writer, Reading Lolita in Tehran
Shahrnush Parsipur (born 1946), novelist
Homa Sarshar (born 1946), Iranian-American author, activist, media personality, and award-winning journalist
Marjane Satrapi (born 1969), French-Iranian graphic novelist of Persepolis, Embroideries and Chicken with Plums
Esther Shkalim (born1954), Israeli, Mizrahi feminist poet
Dalia Sofer (born 1972), Iranian-born American writer
Tahereh Qorrat Al-'Ayn (c.1814–1852), poet, philosopher and theologist; seventeenth disciple or Letter of the Living of the Báb (mid-19th century)

Translators

Abdolmajid Eskandari, academic and translator
Ali Akbar Abdolrashidi, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
Levon Davidian, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator

Mahshid Amirshahi (born 1937), novelist, humorist, and translator
Abbas Shafiee, academic, author and translator
Karim Emami, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
Mohammad Ghazi, translator andwriter
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
Alireza. Norouzi, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
Majid M. Naini, author and translator
, academic, author and translator
Javad Nurbakhsh, academic, author and translator
, academic, author and translator

, author and translator
Shahrokh Meskoob, author, literary historian, and translator

Religious figures

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

Abbas Ali Akhtari
Abbas-Ali Amid Zanjani
Abbas-Ali Soleimani
Abbas Amirifar
Abbas Hosseini Kashani
Abbas Ka'bi
Abbas Mahfouzi
Abbas Almohri
Mohammad Montazeri
Abbas Tabrizian
Abbas Vaez-Tabasi
Abdul Fattah Nawab
Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani
Abdol Hossein Dastgheib
Abdul Hussein Mo'ezzi
Abdol Javad Alamolhoda
Abdul Karim Farhani
Abdolkarim Hasheminejad
Abdul Karim Haghshenas
Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili
Seyyed Abdollah Fateminia
Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari
Abdollah Javadi-Amoli
Abdullah Musawi Shirazi
Abdollah Nouri
Abdul-Majid al-Khoei
Abdolmoghim Nasehi
Abdul-Nabi Mousavi Fard
Abdul-Nabi Namazi
Abd al-Rahim Aqiqi Bakhshayishi
Ayatollah Abdul Rahman Heidari Ilami
Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari
Seyed Abolfazl Mousavi Tabrizi
Abulhassan Navab
Abolghasem Khazali
Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei
Abolghasem Wafi Yazdi
Ahmad Alamolhoda
Ahmad Azari Qomi
Ahmad Beheshti
Ahmad Hosseini Khorasani
Ahmad Jannati
Ahmad Khatami
Ahmad Khomeini
Ahmad Khonsari
Ahmad Marvi
Ahmad Mazani
Ahmad Moballeghi
Ahmad Mohseni Garakani
Ahmad Mojtahedi Tehrani
Ahmad Ghabel
Mir Ahmad Reza Hajati
Seyyed Ahmad Reza Shahrokhi
Ahmad Salek
Ahmad Vaezi
Akbar Ahmadpour
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Ali Akbar al-Modarresi
Ali Meshkini
Ali-Akbar Hosseini
Ali Akbar Masoudi Khomeini
Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur
Ali Akbar Kalantari
Ali Akbar Ghoreishi
Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri
Ali Akbar Rashad
Ali al-Sabziwari
Seyed Ali Asghar Dastgheib
Ali Asghar Rahimi Azad
Ali Asghar Rahmani Khalili
Ali Banaei
Ali Fallahian
Ali Davani
Ali Golzadeh Ghafouri
Ali al-Sistani
Ali Kazemi Gilani
Ali Khamenei
Ali Mohammad Dastgheib Shirazi
Ali Orumian
Ali Qazi Askar
Ali Qoddusi
Alireza Arafi
Alireza Panahian
Alireza Qaeminia
Alireza Salimi (politician)
Ali Safi Golpaygani
Seyyed Ali Shafiei
Ali Shirazi
Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani
Assad-Allah Imani
Mir Asadollah Madani
Asgar Dirbaz
Ataollah Ashrafi Esfahani
Azizollah Khoshvaght
Fakhreddin Mousavi
Gholam Ali Safai Bushehri
Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i
Gholamreza Hassani
Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghaddam
Gholamreza Rezvani
Habibollah Ashouri
Habib Boromand Dashghapu
Hadi al-Modarresi
Hadi Ghaffari
Hadi Khamenei
Hadi Khosroshahi
Hadi Ghabel
Hadi Rohani
Hamid Rasai
Hamid Shahriari
Mirza Hashem Amoli
Hashem Bathaie Golpayegani
Hashem Hashemzadeh Herisi
Hashem Hosseini Bushehri
Hasanali Morvarid
Hasan Ali Nejabat Shirazi
Hassan Ameli
Hassan Emami
Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli
Hassan Eslami Ardakani
Hassan Khomeini
Hassan Namazi
Hassan Rouhani
Hassan Sanei
Hassan Shariati Niyasar
Hassan Tabatabaei Qomi
Heydar Moslehi
Hussein-Ali Montazeri
Hossein Borujerdi
Hossein Ansarian
Hossein Ayatollahi
Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi
Hossein Lankarani
Hossein Mazaheri
Hossein Mousavi Tabrizi
Hossein Noori Hamedani
Hossein Taeb
Hossein Wahid Khorasani
Ebrahim Amini
Mir Ebrahim Seyyed Hatami
Ebrahim Raisi
Esmaeil Khatib
Seyed Esmaeil Mousavi Zanjani
Jafar Sobhani
Jafar Shojouni
Jalaleddin Taheri
Javad Gharavi Aliari
Javad Khamenei
Jawad Tabrizi
Javad Mojtahed Shabestari
Karamatollah Malek-Hosseini
Khalil Boyukzadeh
Khalil Mobasher Kashani
Seyed Kazem Seyed Bagheri
Kazem Nourmofidi
Kazem Seddiqi
Lotfollah Dezhkam
Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani
Mahmoud Taleghani
Mahmoud Alavi
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Mahmoud Mar'ashi Najafi
Mahmoud Nabavian
Mahmoud Salavati
Mahdi al-Modarresi
Mahdi Hosseini Rohani
Mehdi Karroubi
Seyed Mehdi Ghoreishi
Mehdi Shabzendedar Jahromi
Majid Ansari
Mansour Leghaei
Masoud Khamenei
Ali Younesi
Mohammad-Ali Abtahi
Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem
Mohammad-Ali Angaji
Mohammad Ali Araki
Mohammad Ali Gerami Qomi
Mohammad Alavi Gorgani
Mohammad Ali Esmaeelpoor Ghomsheie
Mohammad Ali Naseri
Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri
Ali Movahedi-Kermani
Mohammad Ali Qazi Tabatabaei
Mohammad-Ali Rahmani
Mohammad-Ali Shahidi
Mohammad Ali Shomali
Mohammad-Ali Taskhiri
Mohammad-Bagher Bagheri
Mohammad Bagher Kharazi
Mohammed Emami-Kashani
Mohammad Fazel Lankarani
Mohammad Feyz Sarabi
Mohammad Hadi Ghazanfari Khansari
Mohammad-Hadi Ma'refat
Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh
Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard
Mohammad Hassan Ahmadi Faqih
Mohammad Hassan Ghadrdan Gharamaleki
Mohammad Hassan Rahimian
Mohammad Beheshti
Mohammad Hussaini Shahroudi
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Zanjani
Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai
Mohammad Ebrahim Jannaati
Mohammad Ezodin Hosseini Zanjani
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri
Muhammad Jafar Moravej
Muhammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari
Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
Mohammad Javad Pishvai
Mohammed Kadhim al-Modarresi
Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari
Mohammad Khamenei
Mohammad Khatami
Mehdi Tabatabaei
Mohammad Mofatteh
Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani
Mohammad Momen
Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha
Mohammad Mofti al-shia Mousavi
Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari
Nasser Biria
Mohammad Qomi
Mohammad Rahmati Sirjani
Mohammad Reyshahri
Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani Araghi
Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani
Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani
Mohammad Reza Mirtajodini
Mohammad-Reza Modarresi Yazdi
Mohammad Reza Naseri Yazdi
Mohammad Reza Nekoonam
Mohammed Ridha al-Sistani
Mohammad-Reza Tavassoli
Sadegh Khalkhali
Mohammad Sadeq Rouhani
Mohammad-Sadegh Salehimanesh
Mohammad Sadeqi Tehrani
Mohammad Sadoughi
Seyyed Mohammad Saeedi
Mohammad Shahcheraghi
Mohammad-Taher Shubayr al-Khaqani
Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi
Mohammad Taqi al-Khoei
Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat Foumani
Mohammad Taghi Falsafi
Mohammad-Taqi Ja'fari
Mohammad-Taghi Khalaji
Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi
Mohammed Taqi Morvarid
Mohammad Taghi Pourmohammadi
Mohammad-Taqi Shoushtari
Mohammad Taghi Vaezi
Mohammad Vaez Mousavi
Mohammad Yazdi
Seyyed Mohammad Ziaabadi
Mohsen Araki
Mohsen Faqihi
Mohsen Heidari Alekasir
Mohsen Kharazi
Mohsen Koochebaghi Tabrizi
Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari
Mohsin Qara'ati
Mohsen Qomi
Mohsen Rohami
Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini
Mujtaba Musavi Lari
Mojtaba Tehrani
Mojtaba Zonnour
Morteza Aghatehrani
Morteza Moghtadai
Morteza Motahhari
Morteza Sadouqi Mazandarani
Mousa Qorbani
Mousa Shubairi Zanjani
Mostafa Boroujerdi
Mostafa Khamenei
Mostafa Khomeini
Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad
Mostafa Mousavi Faraz
Mostafa Pourmohammadi
Moslem Malakouti
Nasir Hosseini
Nasrollah Pejmanfar
Nasrallah Shah-Abadi
Naser Makarem Shirazi
Seyed Naser Mousavi Largani
Nematollah Salehi Najafabadi
Qasem Ravanbakhsh
Mir Ghesmat Mosavi Asl
Ghodratollah Alikhani
Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi
Rasul Jafarian
Rasoul Montajabnia
Seyed Reza Bahaadini
Reza Hosseini Nassab
Reza Mohammadi Langroudi
Reza Nouri
Reza Ostadi
Reza Ramezani Gilani
Ruhollah Beigi
Ruhollah Hosseinian
Ruhollah Khatami
Ruhollah Khomeini
Sadeq Larijani
Saied Reza Ameli
Seyed Sajjad Izdehi
Shahab ud-Din Mar'ashi Najafi
Shahab Moradi
Taher Ahmadzadeh
Taqi Tabatabaei Qomi
Yadollah Duzduzani
Yahya Nouri
Yasubedin Rastegar Jooybari
Yousef Madani Tabrizi
Yousef Saanei
Yousef Tabatabai Nejad
Zaynolabideen Ghorbani

Contemporary Sunni Clergy

Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi
Abdolqader Zahedi

Royalty

Scientists, scholars, and academics

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
Jaleh Amouzgar (born 1939), Iranologist, professor and chair at University of Tehran
Farideh Heyat (born 1949), British-Iranian anthropologist and writer; retired lecturer of SOAS, University of London and American University of Central Asia

Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet (born 1967), American-Iranian Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania; novelist
Amy Malek (born c. 1979/1980), Iranian-American scholar, and sociocultural anthropologist at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater

Afsaneh Najmabadi (born 1946), Iranian-born American Professor of History and of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University

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, Iranian and American CEO of Uber, former CEO of Expedia
Amir Taaki, British-Iranian hacker, computer programmer and early developer for Bitcoin
Pierre Omidyar, Iranian-American founder of eBay
Rouzbeh Yassini, American early cable internet innovator.
Habib Zargarpour, American visual effects specialist, video game art director

Azita Emami, Iranian-American engineer working on low-power mixed-mode circuits in scalable technologies; Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering at California Institute of Technology
Mahta Moghaddam (born 1965), Iranian-American William M. Hogue Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California
Reihaneh Safavi-Naini, Iranian-Canadian cryptographer; professor of computer science; head of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Research Institute at the University of Wollongong

Sports

Mojtaba Abedini (born 1984), Olympic fencer
Yu Darvish, Japanese MLB baseball player for the Texas Rangers
Ariajasuru Hasegawa, Japanese professional footballer, 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 NFL 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 medalist
Alireza Rezaei, wrestler, Olympic silver medalist
Taghi Rezaei, bodybuilder
Amir Abedzadeh, football player
Amir Reza Khadem, Olympic Bronze Medalist wrestler
Andre Agassi, American tennis player; his father was Assyrian-Armenian
Arash Miresmaili, judo world champion
Aravane Rezaï (born 1987), French–Iranian tennis player
Behdad Salimi, weightlifter world champion
Bijan Kangarloo, Canadian-Iranian cross-country skier
Ebrahim Javadi, wrestler, Olympic bronze medalist
Ehsan Ghaemmaghami, chess grandmaster
Ehsan Hadadi, discus thrower, Asian record holder
Elshan Moradi, Iranian and American chess grandmaster
Emamali Habibi Goudarzi, wrestler, first Iranian Olympic gold medalist (Melbourne 1956)
Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian and American boxer at 1948 and 1952 Olympics, father of Andre Agassi
Ezzatollah Pourghaz, Iranian-Turkmen football player
George Issabeg, boxer at 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, Iranian-American 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 (born 1998), Iranian-born Bulgarian taekwondo athlete, first Iranian female Olympic medalist
Mahmoud Namjoo, weightlifter, Olympic silver medalist
Mahyar Monshipour, Iranian-born French World Super Bantamweight boxing champion
Mansour Bahrami, Iranian-French tennis player
Mansour Barzegar, wrestler, Olympic silver medalist
Masoud Jokar, wrestler, Olympic silver medalist
Mehdi Haghizadeh, football player
Mehdi Mahdavikia, football player
Mehdi Taremi, 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, football player
Rasoul Khadem, Olympic gold medalist wrestler
Rouzbeh Cheshmi, football player
Ruhollah Bigdeli, football player
Shima Mehri, Motorcycle Biker
Saeid Marouf, volleyball player
Shadi Paridar, chess Woman Grandmaster
Shawn Daivari, American professional wrestler
Shoura Osipov, boxer at 1948 Olympics
T. J. Houshmandzadeh, American 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, Iranian-American professional wrestler
Leila Vaziri, swimmer, World Champion, world record holder
Vahid Shamsaei, futsal player, top international futsal goalscorer
Mika Zibanejad, Swedish ice hockey player for Ottawa Senators of the NHL
Daniel Rahimi, Swedish ice hockey player for San Jose Sharks of the NHL
Zabihollah Poursheib, Kurdish Iranian martial artist
Ali Targholizadeh, football executive

Marjan Kalhor (born 1988), Iranian-French Olympic alpine skier

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

Abbas Ka'bi
Abbas Mohtaj
Ahmad Salek
Alireza Tangsiri
Bahram Hooshyar
Bijan Najdi
Gholam Ali Jafarzadeh
Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi
Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli
Hossein Alaei
Hossein Lashkari
Kavous Seyed-Emami
Mehdi Khazali
Mansour Haghdoust
Mohammad-Ali Rahmani
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Mohammad Forouzandeh
Mohammad-Hossein Malekzadegan
Mohammad Marandi
Nader Ghazipour
Nasir Hosseini
Sajjad Kouchaki
Shahram Rostami

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 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
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, activist and 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, American computer scientist and technology executive
Einat Admony (born 1971), Israeli-American chef, restaurateur, author and television personality

Shohreh Bayat (born 1987), international chess arbiter for FIDE, awarded an International Women of Courage Award for being a champion for women’s rights, based in England
Ladan and Laleh Bijani (1974–2003), conjoined twins
Dorsa Derakhshani (born 1998), Iranian-American chess player and medical student; Woman Grandmaster and International Master, moved to the U.S. after being banned from the Iranian national chess team for not wearing a hijab during a tournament
Sahar Khodayari (c.1990–2019), attempted to enter a sporting stadium disguised as a man in; she died by suicide
Sheila Nazarian (born 1989), Iranian-American plastic surgeon and television personality
Atousa Pourkashiyan (born 1988), Iranian-American chess player; Woman Grandmaster

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

Iranians of Armenian Descent

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

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

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 Australia

Iranian Australian

Iranians in the Netherlands

Iranians in Finland

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