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Mohammad Javad Heydari
Mohammad Javad Heydari was a 32-year-old mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete from Masjed Soleyman in Khuzestan Province. Before joining the protests, he wrote to a friend that he was ready to die if it meant the country could find some stability, and that dying a thousand times was worth more than a life of misery and humiliation.
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Mohammad Javad Heydari was a 32-year-old mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete from Masjed Soleyman in Khuzestan Province. Before joining the protests, he wrote to a friend that he was ready to die if it meant the country could find some stability, and that dying a thousand times was worth more than a life of misery and humiliation.
At about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday 18 Dey 1404 (8 January 2026), during the nationwide protests, he was shot directly by security forces in the Pasdaran neighbourhood of Masjed Soleyman while helping a wounded protester, according to Iran International. After his death, security forces buried him under tight security at 4 a.m. on 25 Dey 1404 (15 January 2026) in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery of Chaharbisheh in Masjed Soleyman, presenting him as a "Basij martyr". Photos and videos on his personal Instagram page were taken down by security forces.
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I swear to God, I am ready to die, as long as this country finds some stability.
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