Bahram Beyzaie, one of the most influential figures in modern Iranian theater, cinema and literature, has died on his 87th birthday, according to a statement by the Stanford Iranian Studies Program, where he served as a visiting professor for the past 15 years.
Beyzaie passed away on December 26 or the 5th of Dey in the Iranian calendar, a date observed in Iran as Playwrights’ Day in recognition of his birthday and the legacy of dramatic literature, the Stanford statement said on Saturday.
In 2010, Beyzaie relocated to the United States, where he joined Stanford University as a visiting professor. There, he taught courses on Persian theater, cinema and mythology, introducing new audiences to Iranian cultural traditions while continuing his own research and writing.
The announcement described his death as a profound loss for Iranian culture, noting that he remained creatively active into his final years.
"He often said that his true home and calling were the realm of culture. He had a profound love for Iran and, despite the narrow-mindedness directed against him and his family, he never ceased to promote, protect, and preserve Iran’s cultural heritage."
Born in Tehran in 1938, Beyzaie was a playwright, filmmaker, researcher and scholar whose work bridged ancient Persian myths and contemporary social themes. His plays and films are widely regarded as milestones in Iran’s modern cultural history, combining rigorous scholarship with innovative narrative forms.
Beyond his artistic output, Beyzaie was also a leading intellectual voice on Iranian culture and identity. He devoted decades to the study of Persian mythology, ritual theater and epic literature, particularly the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi, influences that permeated much of his writing and filmmaking.
Before starting his filmmaking career in 1970, Beyzaie had already established himself as a dominant force in theater—as both a playwright and historian—and is frequently described as the foremost dramatist in the Persian language, earning him the sobriquet “the Shakespeare of Persia.”
Although he entered filmmaking relatively late, Beyzaie is widely regarded as a trailblazer of the group of directors later associated with the Iranian New Wave. His film Bashu, the Little Stranger (1986) was named the greatest Iranian film of all time in a 1999 Picture World poll of 150 Iranian critics and industry figures.
Ballad of Tara (1979), Death of Yazdgerd (1982), Maybe Some Other Time (1988), Travellers (1992), and Killing Mad Dogs (2001) are among his other widely-acclaimed films.
Despite years of professional restrictions in Iran that limited the staging of his works, he continued to advocate for the preservation and promotion of Iran’s cultural heritage.
According to the Stanford statement, Beyzaie completed the text of “Dash Akol According to Marjan” five years before his death, a project described as a demanding and luminous culmination of his late creative period.
The program also expressed gratitude to Mojdeh Shamsaie, Beyzaie’s wife and longtime collaborator, for her role in supporting him in his later years.
A memorial gathering to celebrate Beyzaie’s life and work is expected to be announced by Stanford in the coming weeks, according to the Facebook statement.
Doctors working in public and private psychiatric hospitals told Tehran-based daily Etemad that they are seeing growing numbers of patients with no prior mental illness who develop severe psychotic symptoms after using narcotics and synthetic stimulants.
Many require emergency hospitalization, and some go on to develop lasting psychiatric disorders.
A senior psychiatrist at a 100-bed psychiatric hospital in southwest Tehran said that typically 15 to 20 percent of inpatient beds are occupied by patients admitted after drug-induced psychosis.
“Acute symptoms mean a crisis – self-harm, violence toward others, suicidal behavior, severe delusions and hallucinations,” the doctor said, adding that most arrive in an aggressive and disoriented state.
“These patients must often be physically restrained during transfer because they pose an immediate danger to themselves and others,” the psychiatrist said, noting that many families cannot afford private ambulances and that treatment costs are not covered by insurance.
Teens increasingly at risk
The most troubling shift is the age profile, doctors say. While hospitals previously treated mostly adult men, adolescents now make up a growing share of emergency admissions.
“More than half of pediatric psychiatric admissions are teenagers who have used heavy substances,” one psychiatrist said, adding that cannabis derivatives are now “circulating like chewing gum” among youths.
Another doctor described a rise in cases involving homemade drug mixtures and hallucinogens such as LSD and mushrooms. “Some teenagers believe they are entering a spiritual world,” he said. “Instead, they arrive with persistent hallucinations that can last for years.”
A resident psychiatrist at a public hospital said that in the past year, 10–20% of emergency psychiatric visits involved first-time psychosis triggered by drug use. “Some test negative for substances by the time they reach us, yet they are hallucinating and delusional,” he said. “Even if symptoms subside after treatment, continued drug use puts them at high risk of developing chronic disorders.”
Warnings of long-term fallout
Stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine sharply increase the risk of severe behavioral changes, Mohammadreza Shalbafan, head of mental health and addiction at the Iranian Ministry of Health told Etemad. “These reactions are not limited to people with a psychiatric history,” he said. “No drug user is immune.”
Toxicologist Kambiz Soltaninejad, speaking at a medical workshop in September 2025, warned that high-potency cannabis strains pose the greatest risk. “With teenage use rising, we should expect a schizophrenia tsunami in the near future,” he said.
Advocacy groups say the warnings confirm what they have long observed. Rising use of hallucinogens has already pushed hospital admissions higher, Tayebeh Dehbashizadeh, head of the Association for the Support of Schizophrenia Patients said.
“Global estimates suggest one percent of any population has schizophrenia,” she said. “In Iran, that number is climbing.”
Doctors caution that hospital data capture only the most severe cases. “We are seeing just the tip of the iceberg,” one psychiatrist said. “Many more are deteriorating quietly at home, unnoticed – until it’s too late.”
Cases that haunt clinicians
Doctors interviewed by Etemad described cases that continue to trouble them years later. One psychiatrist recalled a 27-year-old man who developed vivid, shifting hallucinations after consuming a small amount of psychedelic mushrooms. He remained trapped in a fantasy world for nearly two years before briefly regaining clarity, only to spiral into severe post-traumatic stress and later schizophrenia after renewed stress, requiring lifelong treatment.
Another case involved a 16-year-old girl from a family affected by addiction, who began injecting drugs in early adolescence. She was admitted after fearing a fatal overdose and asking for help but disappeared days after being discharged from a pediatric ward.
“No one knows what happened to her after she walked out of the hospital,” a doctor said.
Clinicians also described patients who returned repeatedly after discharge, only to die from overdoses weeks later. “Some survive the psychosis, but not the next relapse,” one psychiatrist said. “That is the most devastating part.”
“The fight against narcotics and alcoholic beverages must be a priority, because the enemy is using these areas as tools to undermine security and strike at society,” Mohammad Movahedi said at a meeting of senior judiciary officials.
Speaking at a session focused on security and judicial coordination, Movahedi warned that after failing to achieve their aims through military confrontation, Iran’s enemies were shifting toward what he described as efforts to foment social dissatisfaction and ethnic tension.
He stressed the need for vigilance, closer cooperation with the public, and what he called “people-based intelligence” to counter internal threats.
Movahedi also urged tougher action against smuggling and economic corruption, called for stronger border controls including the expansion of X-ray screening at customs points, and highlighted the importance of reducing prison populations through alternatives to incarceration for non-security offenses.
Alcohol is illegal in Iran under Islamic Republic law and carries penalties including fines, flogging and imprisonment, but it is widely consumed.
Despite periodic crackdowns, homemade and smuggled alcohol remains common, particularly in large cities, and alcohol poisoning outbreaks linked to illicit production have repeatedly highlighted the gap between strict legal bans and social reality.
