With the fall of Iranian creative martyrs in the zion*st aggression, artists gathered in Tehran to turn their canvases into messages of resistance. On social media platforms, creatives have worked to expose the savagery of the zionist entity and the “Western silence” about it, affirming that art is a weapon.

After assassinating a number of artists in Gaza, the zionist occupation’s hand reached Iranian artists, poets, and musicians, who joined the ranks of martyrs in the early days of the aggression on Iran.

On the second day of the attacks, visual artist Mansoureh Alikhani (1967–2025) was martyred in a zionist airstrike that targeted residential areas in Tehran.
Soon after, young graphic artist Saleh Bayrami was martyred in another strike on Quds Square in the Iranian capital, along with dozens of civilian men, women, and children. The strike also caused major damage to civilian infrastructure.

Mansoureh Alikhani: Between Heritage and Modernity

Alikhani was one of the most prominent students of master Kazem Chalipa (b. 1957) and was known for a style that blended Iranian artistic heritage with the spirit of modernity.
She studied painting at Al-Zahra University, then earned a master’s degree from Sooreh University, after which she began teaching at major academic institutions such as Kashan University of Arts and the Sooreh Higher Institute.

She headed the Artistic Skills Center at Sooreh University, led dozens of workshops, and participated in local and international exhibitions. She was also known for her expertise in art book illustration and aesthetic research, and she served on the juries of prestigious festivals, including the Alif wa Bismillah Festival.

One hundred creatives signed a joint statement condemning the “israeli” aggression.

In her final days, Alikhani had been working on a large painting inspired by the Karbala tragedy, intended for the upcoming Ashura commemoration.
But the zionist airstrike that targeted residential neighborhoods in Tehran ended her life and artistic journey. She was martyred alongside other innocent civilians.

A Shrapnel Killed Saleh Bayrami

On June 15, the Iranian art world lost renowned graphic designer Saleh Bayrami in a zionist airstrike on Niavaran Street at Quds Square in central Tehran. He was waiting at a traffic light when a piece of missile shrapnel struck him directly.

Bayrami worked as a designer for various cultural and artistic magazines and newspapers in Iran, leaving a distinct mark on the contemporary visual scene.

The magazine Andisheh Pouya mourned him with heartfelt words:

“Saleh Bayrami, the quiet young man with the constant smile, who was with us as a graphic designer from the very beginning, is no longer with us. He is now among the martyrs of the treacherous “israeli” aggression on the Islamic land of Iran.”

The General Directorate of Visual Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance issued a statement mourning the two martyrs, Mansoureh Alikhani and Saleh Bayrami, and commended their artistic legacies.
It emphasized that Alikhani had devoted her art to Ashura themes and aesthetic commitment, while Bayrami continued his graphic design creativity and perseverance until his final moments.
The ministry stressed that their works would remain eternal in the memory of Iranian art.