Iranian Azerbaijanis (; ) are Iranians of Azerbaijani origin. They form the largest group of Azerbaijanis in the world, and are the second-largest ethnic group in Iran, accounting for about 16–35% of the total population. Iranian Azerbaijanis are most commonly referred to as "Turks" in both Persian and Azerbaijani, whilst the language is known as Turki (Turkish). However, "Azeri" or "Azerbaijani" are often used as identifiers.
Native to and primarily concentrated in the Azerbaijan region, Iranian Azerbaijanis have settled throughout the country, constituting a significant minority in the provinces of Kurdistan, Hamadan, Qazvin, Gilan, Alborz, Tehran, Markazi, and other regions. Iranian Azerbaijanis have been influential in many fields; they played a crucial role in the modern Iranian state's national development, particularly during the early 20th century.
Arts and entertainment Music Singers Fatma Mukhtarova (1893 or 1898–1972), opera singer; Soviet citizen born in Urmia, Iran. Rubaba Muradova (1930–1983), opera and folk singer; Soviet citizen born in Ardabil, Iran. Aref (1940–2026), pop singer and actor. Homeyra (born 1945), pop singer. Rashid Vatandoust (born 1946), opera singer. Sattar (born 1949), pop and classical singer. Googoosh (born 1950), pop singer and actress. Hayedeh (1942–1990), pop singer; elder sister of Mahasti. Mahasti (1946–2007), pop singer.
«مصاحبه خانم مهستی با علیرضا امیرقاسمی در برنامه آنکات شبکه تپش. دقیقه پانزد» Dariush (born 1951), pop singer. Davoud Azad (born 1963), classical singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. Hassan Anami Olia (born 1967), opera singer; Azerbaijani citizen born in Tabriz, Iran. Rahim Shahriari (born 1971), pop singer and songwriter. Mansour (born 1971), pop singer, actor, and fashion designer. Arash (born 1977), pop singer and producer; Iranian-Swedish. Sami Yusuf (born 1980), world singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist; Iranian-British. Omid Hajili (born 1983), pop singer and composer.
Composers and instrumentalists Gholamhossein Bigjekhani (1918–1987), tar player. Ali Salimi (1922–1997), composer and tar player. Samin Baghtcheban (1923–2008), composer, author and literary translator. Farhad Fakhreddini (born 1939), composer and conductor. Nasrollah Nasehpour (born 1940), composer and singer. Mahmud Shaterian (1944–2006), composer and tar player. Naser Cheshmazar (1950–2018), composer and pianist. Hossein Alizadeh (born 1951), composer and multi-instrumentalist. Dariush Pirniakan (born 1955), composer and tar player. Media Filmmakers Mustafa Mardanov (1894–1968), actor; Soviet citizen born in Marand, Iran. w:ru:Марданов, Мустафа Ашум оглы
Jamileh Sheykhi (1930–2001), actress; mother of Atila Pesyani. Ebrahim Abadi (1934–2019), actor. Reza Beyk Imanverdi (1936–2003) actor and director. Behrouz Vossoughi (born 1938), actor. Jahangir Ghaffari (born 1940), actor and film producer. Reza Naji (born 1942), actor. Valiollah Momeni (1943–2015), actor. Jamshid Hashempour (born 1944), actor. Atash Taghipour (born 1945), actor. Mina Jafarzadeh (born 1947), actress. Jalil Farjad (born 1952), actor. Alireza Khamseh (born 1953), actor and comedian. Jahangir Almasi (born 1955), actor. Parviz Parastui (born 1955), actor. Atila Pesyani (born 1957), actor. Afsar Asadi (born 1958), actress and make-up artist. Akbar Abdi (born 1960), actor. Shirin Bina (born 1964), actress. Farhad Ghaemian (born 1965), actor. Keyhan Maleki (born 1968), actor. Marjaneh Golchin (born 1969), actress. Rambod Javan (born 1971), actor, director, and television presenter. Mir-Taher Mazloumi (born 1975), actor. Amir Aghaei (born 1975), actor and author. Hadi Hejazifar (born 1976), actor, director, and screenwriter. Hadi Kazemi (born 1976), actor. Behnam Tashakor (born 1977), actor. Mohammad Reza Golzar (born 1977), actor and model. Hossein Abedini (born 1980), actor. Maryam Palizban (born 1981), actress. Hesam Manzour (born 1980), actor.
Rouhollah Zamani (born 2005) actor. Broadcasters
Mobarez Alizadeh (1911–1994), radio broadcaster and translator. Bahman Hashemi (born 1962), television presenter and actor Javad Khiabani (born 1966), television presenter and sports commentator. Reza Rashidpour (born 1978), television presenter, film producer, and actor.
Art
Painters, photographers, cartoonists
Sadighi Beg (1533–1610), painter, miniaturist, and writer.
Ebrahim Mirza (1540–1577), miniaturist and poet; Safavid prince Mir Ali (1795–1830), court painter. Ahmad Aali (born 1935), photographer. Mansoor Ghandriz (1936–1966), painter. Aydin Aghdashloo (born 1940), painter, writer, and art curator. Haydar Hatemi (born 1945), painter. Reza Deghati (born 1952), photojournalist; Iranian-French. Javad Alizadeh (born 1953), cartoonist and writer. Khosrow Hassanzadeh (born 1963), painter, installation artist, and ceramist. Calligraphers Ali Adjali (born 1939), calligrapher, painter, and poet. Sculptors Ahad Hosseini (born 1944), sculptor and painter. Akbar Behkalam (born 1944), sculptor and painter; Iranian-German.
Literature Scholars Mohammad-Amin Riahi (1923–2009), literary scholar, historian, and poet. Reza Seyed-Hosseini (1926–2009), literary translator. Jaleh Amouzgar (born 1939), linguist and literary scholar. Naser Mansouri (born 1953), linguist and novelist. Journalists Taghi Rafat (1885–1920), journalist, poet and playwright. Sibel Edmonds (born 1970), journalist and translator; Iranian-American. Non-fiction writers Mohammad Hossein bin Khalaf Tabrizi (1600–1651), lexicographer. Mirza Abu Taleb Khan (1752–1805), writer and poet; Iranian-Indian. Abbasgulu Bakikhanov (1794–1847), writer, linguist, and historian; Imperial Russian subject born in Qajar Iran. Mirza Fathali Akhundzadeh (1812–1878), nationalist writer; Imperial Russian subject born in Qajar Iran. Mirza Abdolrahim Talebi Tabrizi (1834–1911), writer and essayist. Jalil Mammadguluzadeh (1869–1932), writer and satirist; Soviet citizen of Iranian descent. Esmail Amirkhizi (1873–1966), writer and constitutionalist. Mohammad Ali Modarres Khiabani (1878–1954), writer and linguist. Mirza Ibrahimov (1911–1993) writer, playwright, and public figure; Azerbaijani citizen born in Eyvaq, Iran. Abbas Zaryab (1919–1995) historical writer, translator, and literature professor. Fiction writers Ganjali Sabahi (1906–1990), novelist, short story writer, poet, and literary critic. Mir Jalal Pashayev (1908–1978), short story writer and literary critic; Soviet citizen born in Ardabil, Iran. Gholam-Hossein Bigdeli (1919–1998), literary scholar, linguist, historian, writer and poet; of Begdili descent. Gholam-Hossein Saeedi (1936–1985), fiction and non-fiction writer. Samad Behrangi (1939–1968), short story writer, teacher and poet. Fariba Vafi (born 1963), novelist and short story writer. Mohammadreza Bayrami (born 1965), short story writer and novelist.
Poets
Habibi (1470–1519), Azerbaijani-language poet. Alghas Mirza (1516–1550), Persian-language poet; Safavid prince. Bahram Mirza Safavi (1517–1549), Persian-language poet; Safavid prince. Ghovsi Tabrizi (1568–1640), Azerbaijani-language poet.
Saeb Tabrizi (1592–1676), Persian-language poet.
Tarzi Afshar (died 1679), Azerbaijani-language poet. Khasta Qasem (1684–1760), Azerbaijani-language poet. Molla Vali Vidadi (1709–1809), Azerbaijani-language poet. Molla Panah Vagif (1717–1797), Azerbaijani-language poet. Heyran Donboli (1790–1848), bilingual poet; of Donboli descent. Mirza Shafi Vazeh (1794–1852), bilingual poet and teacher. Abolqasem Nabati (1812–1873), bilingual poet. Agha Baji Javanshir (1780–1832), poet and Qajar royal consort. Khurshidbanu Natavan (1832–1897), bilingual poet; Imperial Russian citizen of Iranian descent. Bahar Shirvani (1834– 1883), poet and linguist. Mirza Ali Khan La'li (1845–1907), poet and physician. Ali Mojuz (1874–1934), Azerbaijani-language poet. Iraj Mirza (1874–1926), Persian-language poet; Qajar prince.
Habib Saher (1903– 1988), Azerbaijani-language poet and writer. Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar (1906–1988), bilingual poet. Ali Nazem (1906–1941), Azerbaijani-language poet, writer, and literary critic, Soviet citizen born in Tabriz, Iran. Aziz Dowlatabadi (1922–2009), poet, literary scholar and writer. Habibollah Chaichian (1923–2017), Persian-language religious poet. Bulud Gharachorlu (1926–1979), Azerbaijani-language poet. Madina Gulgun (1926–1991), Azerbaijani-language poet and ethnic separatist; Soviet citizen of Iranian descent. Yadollah Maftun Amini (1926–2022), bilingual poet. Reza Baraheni (1935–2022), Persian-language poet, novelist, and literary critic; Iranian-Canadian. Esmail Khoei (1938–2021), Persian-language poet and writer. Heydar Abbasi (born 1943), bilingual poet, translator and writer. Hossein Monzavi (1946–2004), bilingual poet, essayist, and translator. Jafar Ebrahimi (born 1951), Persian-language children's poet and writer. Pirouz Dilanchi (born 1965), Azerbaijani-language poet and ethnic separatist; Iranian-Canadian. Rasoul Yunan (born 1969), bilingual poet and translator.
Science Applied science
Javad Heyat (1925–2014), surgeon, journalist and writer. Rahim Rahmanzadeh (born 1934), academic, physician and surgeon; Iranian-German. Abbas Alavi (born 1938), scientist in the field of molecular imaging; Iranian-American. Formal science Mohsen Hashtroodi (1908–1976), mathematician and poet. Lotfi A. Zadeh (1921–2017), computer scientist; Azerbaijani citizen of Iranian descent. Maryam Sadeghi (born 1980), scientist in the field of medical image computing; Iranian-Canadian. Natural science Ali Javan (1926–2016), physicist and inventor; Iranian-American.Ali Javan, scientist and inventor – obituary — Telegraph Social science Alexander Kazembek (1802–1870), orientalist and philologist; Imperial Russian citizen born in Iran. Haji-Mirza Hassan Roshdieh (1851–1944), educational theorist, schoolteacher, and writer. Jabbar Baghtcheban (1886–1966), schoolteacher and creator of Persian sign language. Ahmad Kasravi (1890–1946), linguist, historian, and secularist. Hamid Notghi (1920–1999), public relations theorist, lawyer, and writer.
Ali Murad Davudi (1922–1979), Bahá'í historian and professor.
Homa Nategh (1934–2016), historian and left-wing activist. Dariush Shayegan (1935–2018), cultural theorist and philosopher. Shireen Hunter (born 1945), political scientist and diplomat, Iranian-American. Javad Tabatabai (1945–2023), nationalist philosopher and political scientist. Farideh Heyat (born 1949), anthropologist and writer; British-Iranian. Politics
Government officials Hassan Taghizadeh (1878–1970), former president of Senate of Iran. Mir Bashir Qasimov (1879–1949), former Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR; Soviet citizen born in Iran. Mohammad Sa'ed (1881–1973), diplomat and 27th prime minister of Iran. Mohammad Mosaddegh (1882–1867), 30th prime minister of Iran overthrown in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état; of Qajar descent. Abbas Adham (1885–1969), former Iranian minister of health. Amanollah Jahanbani (1891–1974), former Iranian minister of war; of Qajar descent. Ja'far Pishevari (1892–1947), president of the separatist Azerbaijan People's Government. Tadj ol-Molouk (1896–1982), royal consort of Reza Shah; born in Baku.
Mehdi Bazargan (1907–1995), 41st prime minister of Iran.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), last shah of Iran. Rahmatollah Moghaddam Maraghei (1921– 2012), former governor of East Azerbaijan. Abdolkarim Mousavi Ardebili (1926–2016), second chief justice of Iran. Sadegh Khalkhali (1926–2003), first head of the Islamic Revolutionary Court. Farah Pahlavi (born 1938), last shahbanu of Iran. Hadi Khosroshahi (1939–2020), first Iranian Ambassador to the Holy See. Ali Khamenei (1939–2026), second supreme leader of Iran.