Nicknamed “The Eagle of Iran” by his peers because of the golden eagle tattoo on his back, Vahid Moradi was a notorious gangster who spent most of his life in and out of Iranian prisons.
Not much is known about his upbringing or childhood, but throughout his life, The Eagle served multiple prison sentences for various crimes, including gang-related fights and being a member of a criminal organisation.
Moradi is also one of the men profiled in Crime Wave Tehran, a research project and photo book on Iran’s criminal underworld, edited and published by Iranian-Dutch artist and researcher Pouria Khojastehpay in 2018.
Khojastehpay describes “The Eagle” as “a real and respected gangster in every sense”. “He was the main inspiration for the book and my print series,” Khojastehpay told MEE.
In one photograph, Moradi stands with a hand placed respectfully over his heart. He would blend seamlessly into the surrounding crowd were it not for the tattoo of a gun on his hand and the other of a tear drop below his left eye.
Known for being somewhat of a “survivor”, he managed to endure several bullet wounds, before his luck eventually ran out.
In 2018 The Eagle was arrested for the murder of an associate during a party thrown to celebrate his prison release. Soon after, back in jail, he was killed by fellow inmates following a dispute in the prison yard.
The Eagle pictured relaxing in an unidentified location believed to be used as a meeting place. (Pouria Khojastehpay)
In the book, a portrait of Moradi taken on the day he was arrested shows him standing alone. He is dressed in a collared shirt and his eyes have been blurred out by Khojastehpay. Moradi’s chest and neck tattoos are visible, including a scorpion inked into his left ear and the teardrop which sits under his left eye, above a large scar that runs across the side of his face.
