List of Iranian defectors

Last updated

This is a list of individuals who have defected from Iran .

NameOccupationYearNotesRef.
Kimia Alizadeh Athlete2020First woman from Iran to win an Olympic medal (Taekwondo) [1]
Saeid Mollaei Athlete2019Olympic judoka and 2018 world champion [2]
Pourya JalalipourAthlete2019Para-archer who qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan [3]
Farzad FarhangianDiplomat2010Former press attache at the Iranian embassy in Brussels, Belgium [4]
Mohammad Reza Heydari Diplomat2010 [4]
Hossein AlizadehDiplomat2010 [4]
Shahram Amiri Nuclear scientist2009Returned to Iran in 2010; executed by the Iranian government in 2016 “for revealing top secrets to the enemy” [5]
Ahmad Rezaee 1998Eldest son of Iranian conservative politician and senior military officer Mohsen Rezaee; found dead in 2011 at a hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (possible assassination) [6]
Abdolghassem MesbahiIntelligence operative1996 [7]
Marzieh Singer1994 [8]
Mehdi RezvaniAthlete1986Weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea; won the bronze medal at the 242-pound class [9]
Samad MontazeriAthlete1986Weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea [9]
Siamak BajandAthlete1986Weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea [9]
Ardhir BahmanyarAthlete1986Weightlifter competing at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea [9]
Ali Akbar MohammadiPilot1986Former pilot for the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Akbar Rafsanjani; assassinated in Hamburg, West Germany, in 1987 [10]
Iraj FazeliPilot1983Due to his opposition to the Iranian regime, he first flew to Van in Turkey in a Northrop F-5 (the plane returned a week later). He later went to the U.S. before disappearing there in 1989. [11] [12]
Parviz KhazaiDiplomat1982 Chargé d'affaires at the Iranian embassy in Oslo, Norway [13]
Reza AbediAthlete1982Wrestler [14]
Ardeshir AsgariAthlete1982Wrestler [14]
Keyhan JahanfakhrPilot1982Iranian airline pilot; applied for political asylum in Austria after piloting his Iran Air Boeing 727 on a flight from Tehran [15] [16]
Seyyed Jabbar MehdiyounAthlete1982Wrestler; defected during the 1982 World Wrestling Championships in Edmonton, Canada [17]
Mohammad Hossein NaghdiDiplomat1982Charge d'affaires at the Iranian embassy in Rome, Italy; assassinated in Rome in 1993 [18] [19]
Javad HussainMilitary1981 Iranian Air Force colonel [20]

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References

  1. ↑ "The only woman to win an Olympic medal for Iran just defected". The Washington Post. January 12, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Judo world champion granted Mongolian citizenship after fleeing Iran". NBC Sports. 2 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "Another Iranian Athlete Refuses To Return Home; Applying For Asylum Iran". Radio Farda. 5 September 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Iranian diplomats' defections signal fissures in Islamic Republic leaders over election unrest". AP. September 14, 2010.
  5. ↑ "How an Iranian's Spy Saga Ends, 6 Years Later: He's Executed". The New York Times. August 7, 2016.
  6. ↑ Sciolino, Elaine (2001). Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran . Simon & Schuster. pp. 287–288. ISBN   0-7432-1779-9.
  7. ↑ "Iran Blew Up Jewish Center In Argentina, Defector Says". The New York Times. July 22, 2002.
  8. ↑ "Marzieh, Iranian Singer and Voice of Dissent, Dies at 86". The New York Times. October 16, 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Iranian Weightlifters Missing, Reported Defected to Iraq". AP. October 3, 1986.
  10. ↑ "Former Pilot for Iran's Parliament Speaker Slain". AP. January 16, 1987.
  11. ↑ "Перебежчики "холодной войны"". www.airwar.ru. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  12. ↑ "Быстрое изучение английских слов. Мнемотехника". mnemoenglish.ru. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  13. ↑ "Iranian Aide Defects in Oslo". The New York Times. Reuters. October 8, 1982.
  14. 1 2 "Reza Abedi's Greatest Escape". OC Weekly. May 12, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Iran Pilot Defects in Vienna". The New York Times. Reuters. October 18, 1982.
  16. ↑ Iranian Air Pilot Defects. Associated Press. The Victoria Advocate 18 October 1982: 7A.
  17. ↑ "An Iranian wrestler who defected during the World Wrestling..." UPI. August 18, 1982.
  18. ↑ "Iranian official quits over Khomeini rule". UPI. April 19, 1982.
  19. ↑ "Iranian Is Killed in Rome By 2 Gunmen on a Scooter". The New York Times. March 17, 1993.
  20. ↑ "Turkey Weighs Asylum For Iran Air Force Defector". The New York Times. March 18, 1981.
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