Rahimi served as deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, Tehran police chief[2] as well as the president of the Wrestling Federation of Iran.

[3] General Rahimi decided not to use his 30,000 loyal Immortal Guards to crush the rebellion for fear of producing civilian casualties.

By his own account as stated during his televised interrogation, Rahimi was beaten and tortured by the Islamic revolutionaries, arrested and taken to Refah School in Central Tehran.

Sadegh Khalkhali presided over the proceedings and announced his death sentence on the charge of "Warring with God" and "Corrupter on Earth".

Rahimi was executed by a firing squad at midnight just before 16 February 1979,[2][5] on the rooftop of Refah School, which was used as a temporary residence by Ayatollah Khomeini.