2021 in Iran

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2021 Years in Iran

Events in the year 2021 in Iran .

Incumbents

• Supreme Leader of Iran: Ali Khamenei
• President of Iran: Hassan Rouhani (until 3 August), Ebrahim Raisi (from 3 August)
• Speaker of the Parliament: Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
• Chief Justice: Ebrahim Raisi (until 1 July), Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i (from 1 July)

Events

Ongoing - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran

January

• 8 January – Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announces that Iran will ban the import of COVID-19 vaccines from France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and that it will instead obtain a vaccine from other countries. ^[1]
• 26 January – Iran approves Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for import and local production, as nation wide cases exceede 1.38 million with 57,560 deaths. ^[2]

February

• 16 February – Photojournalist Noushin Jafari is arrested and transferred to Qarchak prison for “spreading propaganda against the state” and “insulting the sanctities.” ^[3]
• 22 February – The IRGC block the Eskan border road in Saravan, reportedly opening fire and killing at least 10 people. ^[3]

March

• 23 March –
  • Four Kurdish citizens are arrested in Ney village, Marivan, for participating in Nowruz celebrations. ^[4]
  • Urmia Central Prison authorities reportedly reduce food rations to a quarter and threaten prisoners with seven-month sentence extensions for protesting. ^[4]

April

• 6 April – Iran and the U.S. begin indirect negotiations in Vienna around restoring a nuclear deal, as talks with European nations fail to reach agreement. ^[5]
• 11 April – Iran announces a blackout at a nuclear facility, suspectedly caused by an Israeli cyberattack. ^[6]
• 16 April – Iran begins enriching uranium up to 60%, its highest level ever and approaching weapons-grade levels of 90%. ^[5]

May

• 10 May – Iran publicly confirms it is holding talks with Saudi Arabia, pledging to make its best efforts to resolve longstanding regional tensions between the two countries. ^[7]
• 20 May – Reports emerge that Iran has begun to form smaller, elite militia groups from Iraqi factions loyal to the Quds Force, shifting from reliance on larger public militias. ^[8]

June

• 19 June – Workers stage strikes in Tehran’s metro system, Qeshm’s Sina Refinery, and Asaloye’s Farab Bidkhoon Power Plant over unpaid wages. ^[9]
• 20 June – Iranian dissidents Mohammad Hossein Sepehri and Kamal Yazdi, on hunger strike, are beaten in prison while protesting being denied phone calls. ^[10]
• 23 June – Security forces and municipal agents attack residents in Qaleh-ye Sadri protesting home demolitions. ^[10]

July

• 1 July – Ahmad Jannati is reelected as the chairman of the Assembly of Experts. ^[11]
• 17 July – Two people go missing after vehicles are swept away by flash floods in Baft County, Kerman Province. ^[12]
• 20 July – Protests over water shortages and drought sweep Khuzestan and other regions, with clashes causing deaths and anti-government demonstrations amid the broader economic and social unrest. ^[13]
• 27 July – Swedish prosecutors announce the prosecution of an Iranian citizen for war crimes and murder during 1988. ^[3]

August

• 5 August – President-elect Ebrahim Raisi is sworn in as the new president of Iran. ^[14]
• 14 August – Iranian authorities arrest six prominent human rights lawyers and activists working on Covid-19 accountability cases. ^[3]
• 15 August – Iran announces preparations to provide temporary refuge for Afghans fleeing the Taliban conflict, while encouraging many refugees to return home due to economic pressures. ^[15]
• 31 August – The Iranian military prosecutor’s office indicts 10 officials over the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in 2020. ^[3]

September

• 9 September – The IRGC launch missile attacks on Kurdish opposition bases (KDPI) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. ^[3]
• 26 September – Human rights defender Narges Mohammadi is summoned to serve a 30-month prison sentence. ^[3]

October

• 1 October – Iran holds military exercises near the Azerbaijan border amid rising tensions, while criticizing Israel’s foreign minister visiting Bahrain. ^[16]

November

• 1 November – The Guardian Council passes a “rejuvenation of the population and support of family” bill, limiting contraception and abortion access. ^[3]
• 19 November – Protests resume in Isfahan over drought and water diversion in the Isfahan province. ^[3]

December

• 27 December – Iran-U.S. nuclear talks in Vienna are held, focused on lifting international sanctions. ^[17]

Deaths

Ali Ansarian

Abdolvahab Shahidi

Abolhassan Banisadr

Iran Darroudi

Mahlagha Mallah

Ardeshir Zahedi

• 1 January – Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, 85, cleric and politician (b. 1935)
• 9 January - Mehdi Attar-Ashrafi, 72, weightlifter (b. 1948)
• 12 January - Mahmoud Kianoush, 86, poet (b. 1934)
• 27 January - Mehrdad Minavand, 45, footballer (b. 1975)
• 3 February - Ali Ansarian, 43, footballer (b. 1977)
• 15 February - Golnoush Khaleghi, 80, musician (b. 1941)
• 17 February - Iraj Kaboli, 82, writer (b. 1938)
• 18 February - Amir Aslan Afshar, 101, politician and diplomat (b. 1919)
• 27 February - Nozar Azadi, 83, actor (b. 1938)
• 26 March - Azade Namdari, 36, TV host (b. 1984)
• 14 April - Mohsen Ghazi-Moradi, 80, actor (b. 1941)
• 15 April - Vartan Gregorian, 87, academic (b. 1934)
• 16 April - Nader Dastneshan, 60, football coach (b. 1960)
• 18 April - Mohammad Hejazi, 65, military commander (b. 1956)
• 26 April - Hamid Jasemian, 84, footballer (b. 1936)
• 10 May - Abdolvahab Shahidi, 98, singer (b. 1922)
• 16 May - Akbar Torkan, 68, politician (b. 1952)
• 25 May - Esmail Khoi, 82, poet (b. 1938)
• 7 June - Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur, 73, politician (b. 1947)
• 7 June - Sasan Niknafs, 35, political prisoner (b. 1985)
• 11 June - Parviz Kardan, 84, actor (b. 1936)
• 23 June - Hamid Mojtahedi, 79, director (b. 1942)
• 15 July - Hamid Reza Sadr, 65, journalist (b. 1956)
• 28 July - Shahrum Kashani, 47, singer (b. 1974)
• 31 July - Jalal Sattari, 89, writer (b. 1931)
• 4 August - Arsha Aghdasi, 39, stuntman actor (b. 1982)
• 8 August - Alireza Azizi, 72, footballer (b. 1949)
• 12 August - Ali Soleimani, 50, actor (b. 1970)
• 16 August - Fereshteh Taerpour, 68, film producer (b. 1953)
• 16 August - Hormoz Farhat, 93, musician (b. 1928)
• 19 August - Parviz Kardevani, 90, geographer (b. 1931)
• 3 September - Hassan Firouzabadi, 70, military commander (b. 1951)
• 8 September - Abbas Ansarifard, 65, football administrator (b. 1956)
• 25 September - Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli, 93, cleric (b. 1928)
• 30 September - Hassan Tarighat Monfared, 74, politician (b. 1946)
• 5 October - Fathali Oveisi, 75, actor (b. 1946)
• 7 October - Azartash Azarnoush, 83, scholar (b. 1938)
• 9 October - Abolhassan Banisadr, 88, politician (b. 1933)
• 27 October - Aramesh Dustdar, 90, philosopher (b. 1931)
• 29 October - Iran Darroudi, 85, painter (b. 1936)
• 2 November - Cyrus Amouzgar, 87, politician (b. 1934)
• 6 November - Kambiz Derambakhsh, 79, cartoonist (b. 1942)
• 8 November - Mahlagha Mallah, 104, environmental activist (b. 1917)
• 18 November - Ardeshir Zahedi, 93, politician (b. 1928)
• 20 December - Hasan Irlu, 61-62, diplomat (b. 1959)

References

1. Hafezi, Parisa (January 8, 2021). "Iran leader bans import of US, UK COVID-19 vaccines, demands sanctions end". Reuters. "Imports of U.S. and British vaccines into the country are forbidden ... They're completely untrustworthy. It's not unlikely they would want to contaminate other nations," said Khamenei, the country's highest authority. "Given our experience with France's HIV-tainted blood supplies, French vaccines aren't trustworthy either," Khamenei said, referring to the country's contaminated blood scandal of the 1980s and 1990s.
2. "Iran approves Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V". Reuters. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
3. Human Rights Watch (2022-01-13), "Iran: Events of 2021", Share this via Facebook, retrieved 2025-08-30
4. Taati, Hamideh (2021-03-26). "- Iran News in Brief – March 26, 2021". NCRI. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
5. "Long, fraught timeline of Iran nuclear tensions". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
6. Ravid, Barak (2021-04-11). "Iran announces blackout at nuclear facility, possible Israeli cyber attack". Axios. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
7. "Iran confirms talks with Saudi Arabia, promises best efforts". Reuters. 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
8. Davison, John; Rasheed, Ahmed; Davison, John (2021-05-21). "EXCLUSIVE In tactical shift, Iran grows new, loyal elite from among Iraqi militias". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
9. Taati, Hamideh (2021-06-20). "Iran News in Brief - June 20, 2021". NCRI. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
10. Taati, Hamideh (2021-06-25). "Iran News in Brief - June 25, 2021". NCRI. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
11. "Iran: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
12. "Iran – 8 Dead as Flash Floods and Storms Affect 15 Provinces – FloodList". floodlist.com. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
13. "Water crisis protests persist in Iran, with chants in capital -reports". Reuters. 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
14. Fassihi, Farnaz (5 August 2021). "A New President Takes Office in Iran, Solidifying Hard-Line Control". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
15. "Iran says U.S. "failure" in Afghanistan a chance for durable peace". Reuters. 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
16. "Iran holds border war games amid tense relations with Azerbaijan". Reuters. 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
17. Murphy, Francois (2021-12-28). "Iran nuclear talks resume with Tehran focused on sanctions relief". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-08-30.