Mashhad is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about 900 kilometres from Tehran. In the Central District of Mashhad County, it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan province, the county, and the district. It has a population of about 3,400,000, which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh.
Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani was an Iranian Grand Ayatollah. He was at one point the most senior Twelver Shia scholar (Marja') in Iran until his death. He resided in Qom and taught Islam in the Qom Seminary.
Numerous civilians, including men, women, children, government officials, activists, secular intellectuals and clerics have been victims of assassination, terrorism, or violence against non-combatants, over the course of modern Iranian history. Among the most notable acts of terrorism in Iran in the 20th century have been the 1978 Cinema Rex fire and the 1990s chain murders of Iran.
Astan Quds Razavi is a bonyad based at Mashhad, Iran. It is the administrative organization which manages the Imam Reza shrine and various institutions which belong to the organization.
The Imam Reza shrine, located in Mashhad, Iran, is an Islamic shrine containing the remains of Ali al-Rida, the eighth Imam of Shia Islam. It is the largest mosque in the world by area. Also contained within the complex are the Goharshad Mosque, a museum, a library, four seminaries, a cemetery, the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, and other buildings.
Liwa Fatemiyoun, literally "Fatimid Banner", also known as Fatemiyoun Division or Fatemiyoun Brigade, is an Afghan Shia militia formed in 2014 to fight in Syria on the side of the Syrian government. The group's officially designated purpose, is the defense of the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, and to fight "takfiri terrorists" in Syria, which would come to include the Islamic State (IS). It is funded, trained, and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and fights under the command of Iranian officers. Both the Fatemiyoun Brigade and the Iranian government downplay their relationship with one another, despite clear coordination and the brigade's operation under the auspices of the IRGC. Liwa Fatemiyoun is also closely associated with Hezbollah Afghanistan.
The Followers of Zainab Brigade, also known as the Zainebiyoun Brigade or Zainebiyoun Division, is a Pakistani Shia Khomeinist militant group actively engaged in the Syrian Civil War. It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran, with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.
A bomb explosion occurred at the shrine of Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Imam of Shia, on 20 June 1994 in a crowded prayer hall in Mashhad, Iran. To maximize the number of casualties, the explosion took place on Ashura, one of the holiest days for Shia muslims, when hundreds of pilgrims had gathered to commemorate the death of their third Imam, Husayn ibn Ali.
Holy Shrine Defenders, known in Persian as Modāfe'ān-e-Haram, is a phrase used by the Iranian government to refer to their advisers and military personnel, whether Iranians or otherwise, fighting in Iraq and Syria in defense and protection of Shia peoples and holy shrines often targeted by Sunni fighters. The most prominent shrine associated with the mission of the "holy shrine defenders," and to which their presence in Syria is ostensibly dedicated, is the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in Damascus.
Ustad Muhammad Akbari known as Ustad Akbari, is a former Hazara jihadist commander in Afghanistan, who has held various political affiliations during periods of conflict in Afghanistan. He was the representative of Bamyan during the fifteenth and sixteenth sessions of Afghanistan's parliament, and a member of the House of Elders from 2017 onward.
Mohammad Ali Safa was an Iranian commando in the Bushehr Marine Rangers Battalion who was involved in the Battle of Khorramshahr and Siege of Abadan. He was killed on October 26, 1980, by a mortar shell shrapnel in Abadan, Khuzestan Province, Iran.
Hamid Reza Shekarsari is an Iranian poet, researcher, author and literary critic. He has published more than 20 volumes of poetry and literary research.
Shahab Moradi, is an Iranian clergyman, preacher, and university lecturer. He has appeared in different programs on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as an expert since 2000.
Mohammad Ali Shadman is an Iranian actor. He is best known for his acting in M for Mother (2006) that was selected as the Iranian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 80th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. He is also known for Divar Be Divar (2017–2018), Drown (2020), I Want to Live (2021) and Rebel (2022). Shadman earned a Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor nomination for his performance in Drowning in Holy Water.
Seyed Abdol Javad Alamolhoda was an Iranian ayatollah. He was the older brother of Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader in Mashhad. He was also the founder of Al-Qaim Seminary in Tehran.
The 2022 Erbil missile attacks occurred on 13 March 2022 when multiple ballistic missiles were launched by the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from East Azerbaijan province, Iran, against the city of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
With the establishment of the Safavid dynasty, Shiism was declared the official religion of Iran. In implementing this purpose, the Safavid kings developed the holy places as a place for the Shia people by expanding the culture of endowment and creating endowments. The shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, the only tomb of Shia imams in Iran, was the most important religious shrine and the Safavids' focus. The Safavid kings tried to expand it in various ways, including allocating government budgets and endowments and giving ornaments and charity. One of the significant results of their performance was the increase in endowments of the Imam Reza shrine, which continued in the direction of creating a center for the spread of Shia culture, its prosperity, and continuity.
Fateme Asadi was an Iranian Kurdish woman who was, according to the Iranian media, tortured and killed by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). The PDKI denied responsibility and accused the Iranian government of fabricating the report. The PDKI had detained her husband, prompting Asadi to travel to them to obtain his release. She disappeared and her remains were found 37 years later in 2021, identified by a DNA test, and buried in the Chehel Cheshmeh mountains in Divandarreh district. She was labelled a martyr by Iranian media.
The Shah Cheragh attack was a terrorist attack that occurred on 26 October 2022 at Shah Cheragh mosque, a Shia pilgrimage site in Shiraz in southern Iran, in which at least 13 people were killed.
Peiman Biabani is an Iranian wrestler. He competed in the 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships at Xi'an, China, where he won the bronze medal in his event.
