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Ali Karami, 26, who was shot and killed by Iran’s security forces on January 8, had one wish: “If I die before my dog,” he said, “let her see my lifeless body.”
He said it in a video posted to Instagram in October 2024, narrating as he played tug-of-war with his dog, Ariel—laughing, absorbed in an ordinary moment of life.
After his death, the video spread widely across Iranian social media, capturing the public imagination as viewers returned to his words with disbelief.
Karami believed dogs understand death, and that without seeing him, she might think he had simply abandoned her.
He may have contemplated the possibility of dying young, but not like this—not shot in the street, his private reflection transformed into a national elegy.
Karami was an auto repair mechanic and a devoted dog lover who rescued stray animals. Originally from Kermanshah Province, in the country’s Kurdish region, he later moved to Tehran for school and work.
His Instagram account, @alikaramiservis, offers a window into his daily life—his pride in his craft, his affection for dogs, and his love of nature and music, including the songs of Dariush Eghbali.
It is also a record of one of the tens of thousands of people who took to the streets demanding freedom and were met with bullets.
Karami was reportedly trying to protect an elderly woman when he was shot and killed.
In many of his photos, Ariel—the dog he referred to as his daughter—is never far from his side. They play ball, cook, or simply share quiet time at the repair shop: fragments of an unremarkable, joyful life.
“She understands death,” Karami says in the October video. “If she does not see my lifeless body, she will think I abandoned her and will keep waiting for me to come back.”
“That’s a friendship without limits,” he adds. “Pure loyalty.”
Karami’s final post, dated December 30, shows him proudly displaying his work: a car he had restored at Sehand Car Clinic in Tehran.
From February 8 onward, the account appears to have been run by family members or friends. That day, they posted a tribute video showing Karami dancing, exercising, and spending time with Ariel. They also reposted the October video—his voice now echoing with an unintended prophecy.
This time, there was an ending.
The final images show Ariel lying at Karami’s gravesite.
Just as he had asked.
In the most tragic way, a fate he once spoke of—unknowingly—was fulfilled.
He said Tehran would abandon proportional retaliation and instead move to strike what he described as the “roots” of American interests across the region.
“In response to a potential act of aggression, we are not looking to respond tit for tat,” Larijani said. “Our posture would move from defensive to offensive, striking points where we believe we must hit the roots of that force’s presence in the region.”
He contrasted what he called a “defensive philosophy” — limited, proportional retaliation — with what he described as a broader strategy that would be activated if the United States initiated hostilities.
“This time, if they do it, we will move beyond that into a much broader offensive approach,” he said, adding that Iran’s “target set changes significantly” under such a scenario.
Referring to past hostilities, Larijani said Iran had gained “a great deal of experience” in the June conflict with the United States and Israel and warned there would be “many surprises” for the enemy.
He also took aim at President Donald Trump’s approach, saying his strategy of launching a rapid strike followed by a propaganda campaign “would not be workable” under the framework set by Iran’s leadership.
“They should prepare many coffins for the bodies of their slain troops who will arrive in Washington,” Larijani said, adding that American interests in the region would “go up in smoke.”
