Mohammad Baqer Bakhtiar stands as a controversial yet significant figure in the contemporary history of Iran. A senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during the Iran–Iraq War, he later became known for his dissenting views against the ruling establishment, his involvement in political protests, and his outspoken criticism of the Islamic Republic’s policies. Bakhtiar’s trajectory—from a military commander to a political dissident—mirrors the complex transformations within the post-revolutionary Iranian political and social landscape.
Although his military role, especially as commander of the 114th Brigade of Ilam and later of the IRGC Navy during the war, was central to his early career, he later emerged as a vocal critic of the authorities. His outspoken remarks about the controversial death of Mahsa Amini in 2012, his public opposition to the prolonged house arrest of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, and his eventual arrests by security forces highlight a life lived at the crossroads of loyalty, dissent, and sacrifice.
