A cleric on the powerful panel that selects Iran’s supreme leaders was shot dead yesterday in one of the most high-profile assassinations since the outbreak of mass protests in the country.
Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani died after being shot by a security guard in a bank in Babolsar, according to Mahmoud Hosseinipour, the governor of the region of Mazandaran. CCTV footage released by Tasnim news agency showed the security guard, wearing a blue and white jacket, shooting the cleric from behind as he was sitting in a chair at the bank.
The man was arrested but the motive for the attack remains unclear.“So far, our information and documents indicate that this was not a security or terrorist act,” Hosseinipour told state television, adding that “the assailant did not know the ayatollah”.
The 75-year-old was a former representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and was among the 88 members of Iran’s assembly of experts, which selects supreme leaders.
