Mehdi Zeinoddin
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Mehdi Zeinoddin (also spelled Mahdi Zeinoddin)(; 1959–1984) was an Iranian major general in the
IRGC The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...
during the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
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 is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...
to Sardasht.


Early life

Mahdi Zeinoddin was born in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
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, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
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 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
. At this time, his family were living in Khorramabad 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 and for resisting against the Pahlavi dynasty, Pahlavi regime. Despite this, he continued his education and earned a diploma in natural science. In 1977, he gave several university entrance exams and was accepted by Shiraz University. After a period of time, his father was banished to Fars province once again. Once again, his family were exiled to Saqqez 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 and as revolutionary activity had started, his father secretly moved to Qom 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 was urging the youth to stay in Iran.


After the Iranian Revolution

Following the Iranian revolution, Zeinoddin joined the intelligence section of the IRGC and was pivotal in quelling the enemies of the Revolution in Tabriz 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 and Susangerd. He was then elected as the commander of the 17th Ali ibn Abi Taleb Division.


Death

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


See also

* List of Iranian commanders in the Iran–Iraq War * Shahid Zeyn-o-ddin Metro Station * Mohammad Ebrahim Hemmat * Ali Hashemi (Commander), Ali Hashemi * Hassan Bagheri


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 Military personnel from Tehran