Mehdi Validoost

Mehdi Validoost (Persian: مهدی ولی‌دوست; also written Vali Doost), son of Nasir, was a Kurdish man from the village of Ghazal-Kan in Chenaran County, Razavi Khorasan Province.

On the evening of 17 Dey 1404 (7 January 2026), during the nationwide protests, government forces opened fire on protesters on Khomeini Boulevard in Chenaran. Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that Mehdi was shot dead with Kalashnikov fire, together with Morteza Jahanbakhsh. At least five Kurdish residents of Chenaran were identified among those killed that night and the following day, including Mohammadreza Gorouhi and Mehdi Ghorbandoust.

His name was among the first identified dead of the uprising: on 10 January 2026, the National Council of Resistance of Iran listed him with eighteen-year-old Mehdi Ghorbandoust, Morteza Jahanbakhsh, and Rouhollah Setareh Moshtari among those killed in Chenaran on 17 Dey.

HRANA's report The Crimson Winter lists him among the confirmed dead of Chenaran, and his name, with his father's name, appears in the official list of the dead published in February 2026. Iran Pedia and Iran International's Javidnaman memorial also keep memorial records for him.