Mehdi Taremi (Persian: مهدی طارمی; born 18 July 1992) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Iran national team.
A late bloomer, he began his career at Shahin Bushehr and Iranjavan, and then played for Persepolis between 2014 and 2018; he was Persian Gulf Pro League top scorer on two occasions (2015–16 and 2016–17).
He played for Qatari side Al-Gharafa between 2018 and 2019, before joining Rio Ave in Portugal, with whom he was Primeira Liga joint-top scorer in 2019–20.
[6] Taremi made his debut in 1–1 draw with Naft Tehran, coming as a substitute for Reza Norouzi in 90th minute.
On 8 April 2015 Taremi scored a penalty in Persepolis 1–0 win in the Asian Champions League over Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
He scored many goals for the club, and provided quality assists to win the Best Striker Award of the 14th Persian Gulf Pro League at the end of the 2014–15 season.
Taremi missed the first week of the new season due to suspension, but in his first game back on 6 August 2015, he scored in a 2–1 loss to Esteghlal Khuzestan.
He became the league's top scorer with 16 goals at the end of the season; despite his good performances, his team failed to win the title at the last week.
On 8 May 2017, Taremi scored a decisive hat trick against Emirati side Al Wahda in a 4–2 win to help his team qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2017 AFC Champions League.
[16] Taremi finished his first season with 18 goals, joint top with Benfica pair Pizzi and Carlos Vinícius; the latter won the official Bola da Prata trophy for playing the fewest minutes of the three.
[21] On 13 April, he scored the game-winning goal with a spectacular bicycle kick in a 1–0 away win over Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, yet his club lost 1–2 on aggregate.
[30] Later that month, on 26 May, he scored a penalty in extra time, securing a 2–1 victory over Sporting CP in the 2024 Taça de Portugal final.
[31] On 13 July 2024, Taremi signed a three-year contract with Italian champions Inter Milan, valid until 30 June 2027.
[32][33] Taremi scored two goals on his debut for Inter in a friendly pre-season match on 17 July 2024 against FC Lugano.
On 3 September 2015, Taremi scored his first senior goals, a brace, in a 6–0 victory over Guam in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
[36] On 23 March 2017, Taremi scored the winning and only goal in Iran's victory against Qatar in the final round of World Cup qualifying.
On 12 June 2017, Taremi scored the second goal for Iran in a 2–0 win over Uzbekistan to seal the country's first consecutive qualification to two World Cups.