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General Mehdi Rahimi
General Mehdi Rahimi was a decorated general in the Imperial Armed Forces of Iran. He remained loyal to Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, who was dethroned by the 1978-79 Iranian Revolution. He showed remarkable courage after his capture by revolutionaries, particularly under abusive TV interview by Ibrahim Yazdi, an aid to Ayatollah Khomeini.

General Rahimi was the last Martial Law Governor of Tehran under the imperial government. He remained steadfastly loyal to the doomed regime even as several high ranking officers gave up the fight and the Imperial Armed Forces declared neutrality. As the Armed Forces collapsed he along with other high ranking royalists officers such General Khosrowdad were arrested by the revolutionaries and brought to Alavi School from where Khomeini and aides lead the revolution.

General Rahimi distinguished himself by his courage on and off the camera. In an antagonistic live TV interview, Ibrahim Yazdi, a prominent Khomeini aid, cajoled the General to abandon the Shah and call on the troops who were still loyal to the regime to give up. General Rahimi, however, repeatedly said he would remain loyal to the Shah because as an Imperial Officer he had sworn an oath of loyalty to the monarch. To the irk of Yazdi, Rahimi did not order the still-fighting troops to lay down their arms. It is reported that his foe Khomeini admired his courage. As a result his performance became an enduring example of courage and he became a hero to the supporters of the former government.

General Rahimi became one of the first people executed by the revolutionary regime, which carried it out immediately after the overthrow of the Imperial government.