Teachers' Day in Iran Date in the current year: May 2, 2024

During the era of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Iranian Teacher's Day honored Abulhassan Khan'ali, a teacher who was shot dead on May 2, 1961, while participating in a meeting in front of the National Consultative Assembly.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the holiday was changed to commemorate the martyrdom of Morteza Motahhari, one of the most significant ideologists of the revolution, who was assassinated on May 1, 1979.

Motahhari was an Iranian cleric, lecturer, and politician. Before the revolution, he had been teaching philosophy in the University of Tehran for 22 years. He co-founded the Hosseiniyeh Ershad (a non-traditionalist religious institute) and the Combatant Clergy Association.

Motahhari wrote several works on history, Iran, and Islam. However, he put the emphasis on teaching rather than writing. Some of his lectures were published after his death by his former students.

Dr. Morteza Motahhari was shot dead in 1979 in Teheran by a member of a leftist Islamic group.