Taremi joinedShahin Bushehr in the summer of 2010. He played seven games and scored one goal in all competitions. In the winter of 2012, he was released byShahin Bushehr to spend his conscription period in a military club, but he failed to join a club and was forced to spend his conscription period in a usual garrison.[4]
Taremi joinedIranjavan in the summer of 2013 and signed a two-year contract until the end of the 2014–15 season and was given the number 9. Taremi scored 12 times in 22 matches in2013–14, and became the league's second top scorer after Mokhtar Jomehzadeh.
After becoming theAzadegan League's top scorer, Taremi had offers from many teams. He joinedPersepolis in the summer of 2014 and signed a two-year contract through June 2016.[5]
Taremi made his debut in 1–1 draw withNaft Tehran, coming as a substitute forReza Norouzi in 90th minute. He scored his first goal for the club on 15 August 2014 in a 1–0 victory overZob Ahan. On 8 April 2015 Taremi scored a penalty inPersepolis 1–0 win in theAsian Champions League over Saudi Arabian clubAl 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 toEsteghlal Khuzestan. Taremi scored twice in a 2–0 week five win againstFoolad. This was Persepolis' first win of the season and lifted them out of the relegation spot. Taremi's good performances in the month of August earned him theNavad player of the month as voted by fans.[6] On 18 December 2015, Taremi scored a brace againstRah Ahan in Persepolis' 2–0 victory. He ended the first half of the league as top scorer with nine goals in 12 games.
On 4 April 2016, Taremi scored a brace in a 3–2 victory againstSiah Jamegan to keep Persepolis in third place. On 12 April 2016, Taremi was in talks to extend his contract to the end of the 2017–18 season.[7] But eventually, he decided not to renew his contract. On 15 April 2016, Taremi scored a brace in Persepolis' historic 4–2 victory overEsteghlal in theTehran derby. 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.
Before the start of the new season, Taremi announced that he would not extend his contract, to join to a European team. In July 2016, it was reported that Taremi was linked toSüper Lig teamÇaykur Rizespor. The move was cancelled after Taremi returned to Iran and signed a two-year contract withPersepolis.[8] He played his first match for Persepolis in 1–0 win overSaipa, replacedOmid Alishah in 77th minute. He also scored his first goal of the season in week 4 againstSaba Qom. He scored a brace in 3–1 away win overSepahan At the end of the season, the club celebrated its tenthIran Pro League title, and Taremi became top scorer for a second consecutive season with 18 goals.
On 8 May 2017, Taremi scored a decisive hat trick against Emirati sideAl Wahda in a 4–2 win to help his team qualify for the Round of 16 of the2017 AFC Champions League. After his good performances, Taremi was linked withDinamo Zagreb.[9]
Taremi played seven games, scoring on four occasions. During the2017–18 season, Taremi was banned for four months because of a contract dispute with Turkish clubÇaykur Rizespor dating back to June 2016, when the player reached an agreement to join the club and later returned to Persepolis. Persepolis were also banned from signing players for two transfer windows.FIFA ruled in favor of the Turkish club and imposed the ban.[10]
On 8 January 2018, Taremi signed an 18-month contract with the Qatari clubAl-Gharafa.[11] He scored his first goal in the first match of2018 AFC Champions League against UAE'sAl Jazira. Taremi first scored goal in Qatar League againstAl Kharaitiyat on 16 February. On 19 February, he scored a brace against Iranian sideTractor Sazi on the second matchday of the AFC Champions League.
On 23 July 2019, Taremi signed a two-year contract withPortuguese football clubRio Ave.[12][13] Taremi scored a hat-trick in his firstPrimeira Liga start for the club on 23 August 2019 in a match againstAves.[14] On 31 August, Taremi won his side three penalties in their match againstSporting CP, all on fouls committed bySebastián Coates, as Rio Ave won 3–2.[15]
Taremi finished his first season with 18 goals, joint top withBenfica pairPizzi andCarlos Vinícius; the latter won the officialBola da Prata trophy for playing the fewest minutes of the three.[16]
In August 2020, Taremi signed a four-year contract withPrimeira Liga clubPorto.[17] He scored his first league goal for Porto on 8 November 2020 in a 3–1 home win againstPortimonense.[18] There was a foul on Taremi during the2020 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in December 2020 which gave Porto a penalty and resulted in their first goal of the match scored bySérgio Oliveira. Porto went on to win the 42nd edition of the competition 2–0, which gave Mehdi Taremi his first European medal.[19] On 17 February 2021, Taremi opened the scoring for Porto againstJuventus in the round-of-16 first leg in theUEFA Champions League. He became the first Iranian to score in the first knockout phase of the competition.[20] On 13 April, he scored the game-winning goal with a spectacular bicycle kick in a 1–0 away win overChelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals, yet his club lost 1–2 on aggregate.[21] After thefinal, his goal against Chelsea was voted as the best goal of the season's Champions League.[22] The goal also won the "UEFA.com Goal of the Season" award,[23] and was later nominated for theFIFA Puskás Award.[24] Taremi finished the2020–21 season with 16 goals and 11 assists. He won his first Primeira Liga title in the2021–22 season with Porto. His contributions that season included 20 goals and 13 assists. He was the second-highest goalscorer and the third-highest assist provider that season. On 20 May 2023, he scored all four goals in a 4–2 away victory overFamalicão.[25]
Taremi finished the2022–23 season with 22 goals and seven assists in the league, earning theBola de Prata, the top scorer award, and his secondTaça de Portugal title with Porto.[26][27] He was also named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year, making it the fourth consecutive time.[28][26]
On 12 May 2024, he scored a 98th-minute goal in a 2–1 victory againstBoavista, marking his final appearance for Porto atEstádio do Dragão.[29] Later that month, on 26 May, he scored a penalty in extra time, securing a 2–1 victory over Sporting CP in the2024 Taça de Portugal final.[30]
On 13 July 2024, Taremi signed a three-year contract with Italian championsInter Milan, valid until 30 June 2027. Taremi thus became the first Iranian player as well as the second Asian player in Inter Milan's history, followingYūto Nagatomo.[31][32] On 1 October, he scored his first goal and provided two assists in a 4–0 victory overRed Star Belgrade in theChampions League league phase.[33] On 26 January 2025, he netted his first Serie A goal in a 4–0 away win overLecce.[34]
On 6 May 2025, Taremi provided the decisive assist toDavide Frattesi in the 99th minute of extra time, securing Inter Milan's dramatic victory overBarcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. With this contribution, he became the second Iranian player in history to reach the Champions League final, following legendary strikerAli Daei in 1999.[35][36]
In July 2025, Botafogo presented a proposal for a two-and-a-half-year contract for Mehdi Taremi, then at Internazionale.[37] The Iranian, however, refused the offer, to negotiate with Premier League clubs.[38]
Taremi played for Iran student's national football team in Turkey tournament and scored 9 goals for the team. He was called up byAlireza Mansourian to participate in the team's training camp inKish Island in 2013.[44]
Taremi made his debut againstUzbekistan in a friendly match on 11 June 2015. He also came on as a second-half substitute in a World Cup Qualifying match againstTurkmenistan on 16 June 2015.
On 3 September 2015, Taremi scored his first senior goals, a brace, in a 6–0 victory overGuam in a2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[45] On 23 March 2017, Taremi scored the winning and only goal in Iran's victory againstQatar in the final round of World Cup qualifying. He followed this up with another goal on 28 March 2017, in a 1–0 victory againstChina. On 12 June 2017, Taremi scored the second goal for Iran in a 2–0 win overUzbekistan to seal the country's first consecutive qualification to two World Cups.[46] In June 2018, he was named in Iran's final 23-mansquad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[47] With the score tied 1–1 in stoppage time in Iran's group stage match with Portugal, Taremi missed a point-blank shot wide left that would have eliminated Portugal and advanced Iran to the round of 16.
On March 25, 2025, Taremi scored twice against Uzbekistan in a 2–2 draw, a result that secured Iran’s qualification for the2026 FIFA World Cup, marking their seventh appearance in the tournament.[49] Later that year, on 8 September, he made his 100th international appearance in a 1–0 defeat against Uzbekistan in theCAFA Nations Cup final.[50]
Taremi is the third and the youngest child of his family. His older brother Mohammad is also a football player.[51]
He was in a relationship with Iranian actressSahar Ghoreishi for months in 2018.[52] In March 2020, Taremi announced that he had started a new relationship and is preparing for marriage.[53]
On 15 April 2022,Sporting CP, a rival of Taremi's then-club Porto, published an article on their club website and referred to Taremi as "a true snake charmer, someone from Persia always ready to go and perform circus tricks". The article was criticized by Porto fans and Iranians, including the Iranian Ambassador to Portugal, Morteza Damanpak. The club later deleted the article.[54]
Taremi has been considered a supporter of thegovernment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[55] On 8 December 2017, he tweeted a message that called for the destruction of Israel accompanied by a portrait of Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei.[56] Many Israelis urged FIFA to ban Taremi from the 2018 World Cup for violating FIFA's hate speech policy with the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nachshon also condemned the tweet.[57] Taremi subsequently deleted the tweet, although did not apologize.[57]