Pictured: Three British victims of Ukrainian Airlines flight in Iran

A newlywed husband celebrating marriage with his bride was among three British victims of the Ukrainian Airlines disaster in Iran, MailOnline can reveal.

Saeed Tahmasebi had flown to Tehran with new wife Niloofar Ebrahim for the second leg of their wedding with friends and family after tying the knot at St John’s Wood register office in London last month.

Mr Tahmasebi, 35, from Chiswick, was an engineer for building firm Laing O’Rourke and was studying for a PHD as a postgraduate researcher at Imperial College London.

They were among 176 passengers who died when their Ukrainian Airlines jet bound for Kiev crashed shortly after take off in Tehran.

He and two more Britons – including a dry cleaning firm boss from Brighton, East Sussex and another engineer from London are known to have perished on board.  

Newlywed Tahmasebi, 35, from Chiswick, west London, was celebrating his marriage to bride Niloofar Ebrahim (pictured) in Iran when the pair perished in the Ukrainian Airlines tragedy

Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda-Zadeh (pictured), 40, who ran a dry cleaning firm in Brighton, East Sussex, has been named as the second British victim of the plane disaster in Tehran

Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda-Zadeh (pictured), 40, who ran a dry cleaning firm in Brighton, East Sussex, has been named as the second British victim of the plane disaster in Tehran 

Sam Zokaei, 42, pictured, from London, was an engineer at BP where colleagues mourned his 'tragic loss' today. He was on holiday in Iran visiting friends and family when he died

Sam Zokaei, 42, pictured, from London, was an engineer at BP where colleagues mourned his ‘tragic loss’ today. He was on holiday in Iran visiting friends and family when he died

Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda-Zadeh, 40, a father-of-one travelled to Iran to see family over the Christmas period and was returning to the UK via Ukraine.

The businessman, who lived a three-bedroom terraced house in Brighton, East Sussex runs Smarty’s dry cleaner’s, in nearby Hassocks. 

The third victim was Sam Zokaei, 42, an engineer at BP where colleagues mourned his ‘tragic loss’ today.

A spokesman for the company said: ‘With the deepest regret, we can confirm that one of our colleagues at BP, Sam Zokaei, was a passenger on the Ukrainian International Airlines plane that crashed in Iran this morning, reportedly with no survivors. 

‘We are shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic loss of our friend and colleague and all of our thoughts are with his family and friends.’ 

Mr Tahmasebi, a British national, had lived in Britain for more than 15 years. 

His friends described him as a ‘very bright, very clever and smart’ man who had a promising future as a structural engineer. 

A friend speaking at the couple’s home near Chiswick, said today: ‘He was a lovely man. A wonderful human being. One of the nicest people you could meet.

‘He was a top engineer and I would say he was a genius and he was so happy and getting married to his girlfriend who had been with for about three years.

‘He has a sister who lives in London and she asked me to come to his flat today. We are in shock. We just can’t believe it. Nobody knows what happened, but this is a very big tragedy.  

Mr Tahmasebi and wife Niloofar, pictured, were married at St John's Wood register office in London last month and had flown to Iran for the second part of their wedding celebrations

Mr Tahmasebi and wife Niloofar, pictured, were married at St John’s Wood register office in London last month and had flown to Iran for the second part of their wedding celebrations  

Mr Tahmasebi, a PHD student who had been living in the UK for 15 years, and his wife were returning to Britain from Tehran this morning when their passenger jet crashed after take off

Mr Tahmasebi, a PHD student who had been living in the UK for 15 years, and his wife were returning to Britain from Tehran this morning when their passenger jet crashed after take off

Mr Zokaei was a reservoir engineer who worked for BP for four and a half years in London and Middle East

Mr Zokaei, a graduate from Herriott Watt University in Edinburgh, was flying home to the UK from Iran

Mr Zokaei, a reservoir engineer had worked for BP for four and a half years in London, was travelling home to the UK from a holiday in Iran when he was caught up in the plane disaster

A spokesman for his company Laing O’Rourke said: ‘Everyone here is shocked and saddened by this very tragic news.’

‘Saeed was a popular and well respected engineer and will be missed by many of his colleagues. 

‘Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this most difficult time and we will do all we can to support them through it.’ 

In Sussex at the three-bedroom home of Mr Kadkhoda-Zadeh’s parents in Haywards Heath, his father, Mahmoud, 67, was too upset to speak.

Mr Kadkhoda-Zadeh (pictured) is understood to have travelled to Iran to see family over the Christmas period and was returning to the UK via Ukraine

Mr Kadkhoda-Zadeh (pictured) is understood to have travelled to Iran to see family over the Christmas period and was returning to the UK via Ukraine

Fighting back tears he said: ‘I have no words sorry. I cannot speak.’

A family friend said: ‘He was his parents’ only son. It is so dreadful. We only heard about it in the morning. It is so, so bad at the moment.’

Friends and neighbours described paid tribute to the ‘quiet, polite and lovely’ businessman after hearing of the tragedy.

A student who rented a room in his house said: ‘He’s very lovely man. He is friendly and polite and we get on very well indeed. 

‘I am renting a room here and studying in Brighton to improve my English and we got along very well right from the start.

‘He had gone to Iran to see friends and I think some family over Christmas and was due back today.’

Mohammed, who was known to friends as ‘Reza’, is divorced and father to a nine-year-old girl.

Another neighbour said: ‘He was a really lovely man. This is just so shocking and sad. 

‘He was absolutely dedicated to his daughter, he loved her so much and they would do all sorts of things together.’

Stephen Edgington, who runs Hassocks Pet Centre next to Smarty’s dry cleaner, said: ‘It is so shocking and it is very upsetting for everyone who knew him. 

‘He was a lovely man, very quiet and polite but a really nice guy – we got on very well indeed and it is a tragedy.’

Mr Kadkhoda-Zadeh’s daughter would often sit in the pet centre so she could stroke the cats there.

‘She is a lovely girl and both his ex-wife and him were very nice people. You couldn’t fault him. It is such a shock.’ 

The Ukrainian foreign ministry says there were three British victims of the disaster near Tehran this morning (pictured: wreckage at the crash site)

The Ukrainian foreign ministry says there were three British victims of the disaster near Tehran this morning (pictured: wreckage at the crash site) 

Mr Zokaei was believed to be on holiday in Iran and was on his way back to the UK when he was caught up in the disaster.  

The reservoir engineer had worked for BP for four and a half years, both in the Middle East and London, and was understood to be visiting family.

According to his Linkedin profile, Mr Zokaei had studied petroleum engineering at Herriott Watt University in Edinburgh. 

‘With the deepest regret, we can confirm that one of our colleagues at BP, Sam Zokaei, was a passenger on the Ukrainian International Airlines plane that crashed in Iran this morning, reportedly with no survivors,’ a statement said. 

‘We are shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic loss of our friend and colleague and all of our thoughts are with his family and friends.’ 

A neighbour told MailOnline: ‘He drove a brown coloured 2016 Range Rover that he sometimes parked in my mother’s disabled bay outside my house.

‘I asked him if he could move the car and he was always very polite and would often apologise.

‘He was an Arabic gentleman, I don’t know if he had much family here.

‘He was in and out of the house quite a lot. You’d say hello and he’d be gone in the car somewhere. He went away quite a bit as well I think with work.

‘The last time I saw him was last November. As far as I know he’s been living there for at least a year.’  

All three men were on the Boeing 737 which came down just minutes after take-off, sparking fresh alarm in an already tense Middle East. 

Iran is blaming ‘technical difficulties’ and says the pilot lost control after a fire struck one of the plane’s engines. 

However, Tehran is refusing to say what will happen to the black boxes which were recovered from the crash site. 

The Boeing plane was less than four years old and had been checked just two days earlier, with ‘one of our best crews’ manning the aircraft, a Ukrainian airline official said. 

The disaster deals a further blow to Boeing which was thrown into crisis by two plane crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 which killed a combined 346 people. 

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