Nureddin Kianouri

Nureddin Kianouri (1915–1999) was an Iranian engineer, professor, and communist political leader who served as First Secretary of the Tudeh Party of Iran during the post-revolutionary period. He joined the Tudeh Party in 1942 and rose through its ranks, becoming a central committee member by 1945. After the 1953 coup, he and his wife Maryam Firouz fled to East Germany, where they lived in exile for over two decades. They returned to Iran after the 1979 revolution. Kianouri replaced Iraj Eskandari as party leader in 1979 and pursued a controversial strategy of supporting Ayatollah Khomeini's government as an anti-imperialist ally. In 1983, the regime arrested the entire Tudeh leadership. Kianouri was tortured and forced to deliver a televised confession denouncing the party. He was released and placed under house arrest, where he remained until his death on 5 November 1999.