On Sunday, March 9, 2025, in the city of Chermahin in Lenjan County, Isfahan Province,
a woman named Zahra Rafiei, 30 years old, was shot and killed by her former suitor,
Hamidreza Jafarian, 35, known as Salman, using a handgun equipped with a
suppressor. The attack was reportedly motivated by Zahra’s rejection of his marriage
proposal and the cancellation of their engagement. Jafarian then shot and killed Zahra’s
mother, Shahin Ebn-Ali, with the same weapon. After committing the killings, he turned
the gun on himself and ended his own life.
According to a reliable source, Hamidreza had proposed to Zahra 15 years earlier, but
her family rejected the proposal. Seven years ago, Zahra married another man, but the
marriage ended in divorce, reportedly due to infertility. The source said: “After her
divorce, Salman, who remained single, once again asked Zahra’s parents for her hand
in marriage. Mr. Rafiei, Zahra’s father—a simple, religious, and kind man—agreed after
consulting his daughter. However, shortly into the engagement, Zahra told her family
that Salman was mentally unstable, aggressive, and frightening. She called off the
engagement.”
On the day of the incident, Jafarian (Salman) visited the Rafiei family home. After initial
hospitality, an argument broke out during which he demanded an explanation for the
broken engagement. Zahra’s older sister and her two young children were also present.
When the situation escalated, Mr. Rafiei took the sister and her children to their home
nearby. Upon his return, he found that his daughter Zahra and wife Shahin had been
shot dead, and Salman had committed suicide.
The killing of Zahra Rafiei and her mother by a rejected suitor is a horrifying example of
patriarchal, ownership-based violence against women in Iran. The crime underscores
the deeply entrenched structures of gender discrimination and a culture of violence that
punishes women for exercising autonomy—especially when that autonomy conflicts
with a man’s perceived entitlement.
Iran’s current legal system lacks effective protections for women facing threats from
suitors, husbands, or ex-partners. Notably, the use of a handgun with a suppressor in
this crime highlights the alarming ease with which individuals can access deadly
weapons and military-grade equipment in Iran—an issue seen frequently in so-called
“honor killings.”

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