Mohammad Hossein Naghdi
{{Short description|Iranian politician (1952–1993)}}
{{Third-party|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Mohammad Hossein Naghdi
| image=
| order = Ambassador of Iran in Rome, Italy
| primeminister =
| Constituency =
| term_start =
| term_end =
| predecessor = Seyyed Mohammad Baqer Nasir al-Sadat Salami
| successor = Gholam Ali Heydari Khajepour
| order2 =
| term_start2 =
| term_end2 =
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| birth_date = 1952
| death_date = March 25, 1993
| death_place = Piazza Alba, Rome, Italy
| death_cause = assassination
| nationality = Iran
| occupation =
| party = National Council of Resistance of Iran
| relatives =
| education = geology
| alma_mater =
}}
Mohammad Hossein Naghdi ({{langx|fa|محمدحسین نقدی}}) ,(Yazd, 1952, March 16, 1993) was the chargé d'affaires of the Iranian embassy in Italy, but left the embassy in March 1982, and in 1984 he assumed the role of representative for the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Italy. He was assassinated in Italy on March 16, 1993.{{Cite web |title=An Iran diplomat resigned unexpectedly today and fled to... - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/04/19/An-Iran-diplomat-resigned-unexpectedly-today-and-fled-to/3200388040400/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=UPI |language=en}}
Life and education
Mohammad Hossein Naghdi was born in 1951 in Yazd. In the late 1960s, while studying at the university, he was arrested and imprisoned multiple times for participating in student protests and supporting the Student activism. After completing his university studies, he worked as a geologist{{Cite web |title=Chi era Costui - Scheda di Mohammad Hossein Naghdi |url=http://www.chieracostui.com/costui/docs/search/schedaoltre.asp?ID=19966 |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=www.chieracostui.com}} at the National Iranian Oil Company. From 1970 to 1971, he was employed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. In the 1980s, he was granted a scholarship and relocated to Italy to pursue further studies at the School of Administration in Milan.{{Cite web |date=2014-04-09 |title=Iranian diplomat rejected by US implicated in Italian murder |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10755831/Iranian-diplomat-rejected-by-US-implicated-in-Italian-murder.html |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}}
Political activities
After completing his studies in Italy, he returned to Iran and was employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1981, he served as chargé d'affaires of the Iranian Embassy in Rome. His support for democracy, freedom, and opposition to the Khomeini Regime led him to decide to separate from the government of the Islamic Republic. On April 19, 1982, he handed over his diplomatic passport to the Italian authorities. Later, he assumed the representation of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Italy.{{Cite web |author=Staff Writer |date=2017-03-21 |title=Chi c'è dietro all'assassinio del 1993, di un membro della Resistenza Iraniana? |url=https://it.ncr-iran.org/notizie/chi-c-e-dietro-all-assassinio-del-1993-di-un-membro-della-resistenza-iraniana/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=Consiglio Nazionale della Resistenza Iraniana |language=it-IT}}{{Cite web |title=Mohammad Hossein Naqdi: One Person's Story |url=https://www.iranrights.org/memorial/story/-4713/mohammad-hossein-naqdi |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=Abdorrahman Boroumand Center |language=en}}
He worked with Italian members of parliament and politicians to gain support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran. In one of his last actions, he obtained the support of more than 300 Italian parliamentarians for the National Council of Resistance,{{Cite web |date=1993-03-17 |title=' PRIMA IL FRATELLO, ADESSO LUI...' - la Repubblica.it |url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1993/03/17/prima-il-fratello-adesso-lui.html |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=Archivio - la Repubblica.it |language=it}} who issued a joint statement. He was also active in international organizations, exposing the Iranian government.
Assassination
On March 16, 1993, at 9:30 a.m., while Naghdi was driving to his office in the Roman neighborhood of Monte Sacro, two unidentified men on a Vespa motorcycle armed with automatic weapons approached his car and fatally shot him.{{Cite web |date= |title=La vendetta degli ayatollah |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1993/03/17/page_009.pdf |website=Unita News}}{{Cite web |title=INTERROGAZIONE A RISPOSTA ORALE 3/00096 presentata da MANTOVANI RAMON (RIFONDAZIONE COMUNISTA-PROGRESSISTI) in data 19960709 |url=https://dati.camera.it/ocd/aic.rdf/aic3_00096_13 |website=Dati.Camera.it}}{{Cite web |date=2014-04-04 |title=L'ambasciatore col passato di sangue |url=https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/esteri/linviato-iraniano-allonu-accusato-omicidio-politico-roma-e-1007506.html |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=ilGiornale.it |language=it}}{{Cite web |last=Buffa |first=Dimitri |date=2017-10-08 |title=Iran, come si uccidevano gli oppositori in Italia |url=https://opinione.it/esteri/2016/02/06/buffa_esteri-06-02-1/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=L'Opinione delle Libertà |language=it}}
References
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Category:Iranian murder victims