2008 in Iran

← 2007 2006 2005 2008 in Iran → 2009 2010 2011
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2008 Years in Iran

The following lists events that happened during 2008 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Incumbents

• Supreme Leader: Ali Khamenei
• President: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
• Vice President: Parviz Davoodi
• Chief Justice: Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi

Events

February

• February 4 – Iran launches the Kavoshgar-1 research rocket to inaugurate a newly built space center. ^[1]

March

• March 14 – Iranian voters go to the polls in the legislative election. Nearly 90 percent of reformist candidates have been disqualified from the election. ^[2]
• March 16 – The Conservative Alliance wins the Iranian legislative election. ^[3]

August

• August 12 – The United States Department of the Treasury imposes sanctions on five Iranian companies for assisting the development of the nuclear program of Iran. ^[4]
• August 17 – Iran announces it has launched a satellite launch-capable Safir rocket. ^[5]

Notable deaths

• January 9 – Mehran Ghassemi, 30, Iranian journalist, heart failure. ^[6]
• January 13 – Jafar Shahidi, 89, Iranian linguist and historian.^{[ citation needed ]}
• January 20 – Ghorban Soleimani, 87, Iranian vocalist and dotar player. ^[7]
• February 2 – Ahmad Bourghani, 48, Iranian politician, heart failure. ^[8]
• February 6 – Nikol Faridani, 72, Iranian aerial photographer, prostate cancer. ^[9]
• March 5 – Nader Khalili, 72, Iranian architect, heart failure. ^[10]
• March 21 – Shusha Guppy, 72, Iranian writer and singer. ^[11]
• March 23 – Maryam Farman Farmaian, 94, Iranian feminist activist. ^[12]
• April 12 – Abbas Katouzian, 86, Iranian painter.^{[ citation needed ]}
• April 15 – Parvin Dowlatabadi, 84, Iranian children's author and poet, heart attack. ^[13]
• April 29 – Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, 87, Iranian Anglican Bishop, first ethnic Iranian Christian bishop since the 7th century. ^[14]
• July 18 – Khosrow Shakibai, 64, Iranian actor, liver cancer.^{[ citation needed ]}
• October 9 – Ardeshir Mohassess, 70, Iranian illustrator and cartoonist, heart attack. ^[15]
• October 10 – Javad Nurbakhsh, 81, Iranian spiritual leader.
• October 25 – Tahereh Saffarzadeh, 72, Iranian poet and academic, cancer. ^[16]

References

1. "Iranians inaugurate space project". BBC News . 4 February 2008.
2. (BBC News)
3. (BBC News)
4. "U.S. sanctions five Iranian groups over nuclear work". Reuters. 12 August 2008. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
5. "Iran launches satellite carrier". 17 August 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
6. "M a K T U O B | Mohajerani | Diary".
7. "Khorasan bids farewell to legendary musician Qorban Soleimani". 21 January 2008.
8. "احمد بورقانی، نماینده سابق مجلس ایران، درگذشت" [Ahmad Bourghani, a former member of the Iranian parliament, has died] (in Persian). BBCPersian.com. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
9. "Photographer of dessert terrains Nikol Faridani dies". 6 February 2008.
10. "Architect's goal was to house the poor". Los Angeles Times . 12 March 2008.
11. "Obituary: Shusha Guppy". TheGuardian.com . 24 March 2008.
12. "Obituary: Maryam Firouz". TheGuardian.com . 31 March 2008.
13. "Iranian author Parvin Dowlatabadi dies at 84". Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
14. "The Rt Rev Hassan Dehqani-Tafti".
15. Martin, Douglas (20 October 2008). "Ardeshir Mohassess, Iranian Cartoonist, is Dead at 70". The New York Times.
16. "Woman Scholar of the Islamic World dies at 72". 25 October 2008.