Mehrdad (Matin) Moshtaghi

Mehrdad Moshtaghi (Persian: مهرداد مشتاقی), known to friends as Matin, was a 27-year-old engineer from Arak in Markazi Province. A gifted student who had entered university with a national entrance exam rank of 200, he trained in civil engineering and urban planning. He was a devoted Real Madrid fan, and videos of him dancing and celebrating, which earned him the nickname "the Alain Delon of Iran", are still shared on social media.

On the evening of Friday, 19 Dey 1404 (9 January 2026), during the protests in Arak, he was struck in the head by a live round fired by government forces. He was taken to hospital and operated on, but, according to Iran International and Hamvatan, he died of brain death and cardiac arrest; Hamvatan says this came after four days in hospital. Hengaw identified him among eleven people killed in Markazi Province, alongside Iman Behdari, Saeed Taghvaei and Abolfazl Beikmohammadi.

Around his fortieth-day memorial, security forces closed Arak cemetery, and his family, like those of Ehsan Akbari and Esmail Ganjgoli, had to cancel or move the ceremony.