According to reports received, Mehdi Heydari, a married father of five and resident of the Malashieh neighborhood of Ahwaz, has been seriously injured in an explosion at a scrap yard. Heydari is a former Arab political prisoner who was previously held in Sheiban Prison. He owns a flour-processing workshop on 17th Street in Malashieh, Ahwaz.
On Thursday, September 3, 2026, a man identified as Jamal, known as “Jamal Abadani,” the owner of a small scrap yard adjacent to Mehdi Heydari’s flour-processing workshop, was cutting a missile casing to sell as scrap when the explosive material remaining inside the casing detonated. He was killed in the explosion, while Mehdi Heydari, who was present at the neighbouring scrap yard when the explosion occurred, was seriously injured.
According to the Telegram channel Moj-e Ahwaz, the explosive material remaining inside the missile casing may have been of a dual-stage type. Following the explosion, both of Heydari’s eyes sustained serious injuries, while extensive burns affected parts of his body, including his face, abdomen, arms, and legs.
Mehdi Heydari was initially transferred to Arvand Hospital in Ahwaz, where he underwent surgery on his legs and metal plates were inserted to stabilise them. He was subsequently transferred to Shiraz for further treatment, where he underwent eye surgery. According to available reports, as a result of injuries caused by the blast wave and shrapnel, he has completely lost the sight in one eye, while vision in the other eye has been reduced by 50 percent.
Meanwhile, close relatives of Mehdi, who went to the hospital to visit him, were summoned by the Intelligence Department and threatened with dismissal from their jobs. According to the report, his elder brother was also detained by the Intelligence Department for one day.
Relatives of Mehdi Heydari say that security agencies in Ahwaz are exerting pressure on the family in an attempt to prevent him from continuing his medical treatment, while his physical condition remains critical. Mehdi Heydari and several members of his family also have a history of arrest and imprisonment in connection with political and religious activities.
Jassem Heydari, a member of the same family, was also executed at Sepidar Prison in Ahwaz on Monday, March 1, 2021, after being convicted of “rebellion through cooperation with groups opposed to the state.”
In light of Mehdi Heydari’s and his family’s political and religious background, Arab activists have expressed concern over the pressure being exerted by the Ahwaz Intelligence Department on his family and relatives during the course of his medical treatment. They believe that continued pressure could place his life and health at even greater risk.
