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| Iran: Senior Shia cleric on Assembly of Experts shot dead at bank | Iran: Senior Shia cleric on Assembly of Experts shot dead at bank |
| (1 day later) | |
| Ayatollah Abbasali Soleimani died in hospital after being shot in the northern town of Babolsar | Ayatollah Abbasali Soleimani died in hospital after being shot in the northern town of Babolsar |
| A senior Iranian Shia Muslim cleric and member of the powerful Assembly of Experts has been killed in a gun attack in northern Iran, state media report. | A senior Iranian Shia Muslim cleric and member of the powerful Assembly of Experts has been killed in a gun attack in northern Iran, state media report. |
| Ayatollah Abbasali Soleimani died in hospital after being shot at a bank in Babolsar, in Mazandaran province. | Ayatollah Abbasali Soleimani died in hospital after being shot at a bank in Babolsar, in Mazandaran province. |
| Its governor said the attacker, who has been arrested, was a bank security guard and that the motive was unclear. | Its governor said the attacker, who has been arrested, was a bank security guard and that the motive was unclear. |
| Ayatollah Soleimani was one of 88 clerics on the Assembly of Experts, which appoints the Supreme Leader. | Ayatollah Soleimani was one of 88 clerics on the Assembly of Experts, which appoints the Supreme Leader. |
| The elected body also monitors his performance and can - theoretically - remove him if he is deemed incapable of fulfilling his duties. | The elected body also monitors his performance and can - theoretically - remove him if he is deemed incapable of fulfilling his duties. |
| He also previously served as the personal representative of the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the restive south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, stepping down in 2019 after 17 years in the role. | He also previously served as the personal representative of the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the restive south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, stepping down in 2019 after 17 years in the role. |
| BBC Persian's Parham Ghobadi says he was a hardliner who called for gender segregation in all public spaces in the Islamic Republic, including workplaces. | BBC Persian's Parham Ghobadi says he was a hardliner who called for gender segregation in all public spaces in the Islamic Republic, including workplaces. |
| Ayatollah Soleimani, who was in his mid-70s, was visiting a branch of Bank Belli in Babolsar on personal business at about 10:30 (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday when he was shot. | Ayatollah Soleimani, who was in his mid-70s, was visiting a branch of Bank Belli in Babolsar on personal business at about 10:30 (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday when he was shot. |
| CCTV footage published by the Tasnim news agency appeared to show the cleric, dressed in a traditional dark robe and white turban, sitting on a chair inside the bank. | CCTV footage published by the Tasnim news agency appeared to show the cleric, dressed in a traditional dark robe and white turban, sitting on a chair inside the bank. |
| A middle-aged man wearing a blue and white uniform and carrying what looks like a submachine gun is then seen walking up to him from behind before firing a series of shots into his back. | A middle-aged man wearing a blue and white uniform and carrying what looks like a submachine gun is then seen walking up to him from behind before firing a series of shots into his back. |
| The man is then disarmed by two other men, one of whom is wearing a green uniform. | |
| The governor of Mazandaran, Mahmoud Hosseinipour Nouri, said the attacker was a local man who was one of several armed guards employed by a security contractor to protect the bank. | The governor of Mazandaran, Mahmoud Hosseinipour Nouri, said the attacker was a local man who was one of several armed guards employed by a security contractor to protect the bank. |
| "So far, the motive of the assailant for the act is rather unclear," he told state TV. | "So far, the motive of the assailant for the act is rather unclear," he told state TV. |
| He said the police's investigation into the shooting was continuing, but that "our information and documents indicate that this was not a security or terrorist act". | He said the police's investigation into the shooting was continuing, but that "our information and documents indicate that this was not a security or terrorist act". |
| An initial report by Hawzahnews, the official website of Iran's Shia seminaries, cited a witness as saying that the attacker was a man who grabbed a bank guard's gun and opened fire, rather than a guard. | An initial report by Hawzahnews, the official website of Iran's Shia seminaries, cited a witness as saying that the attacker was a man who grabbed a bank guard's gun and opened fire, rather than a guard. |
| Last April, two clerics were killed and a third was injured in a knife attack at a Shia shrine in the north-eastern city of Mashhad. | Last April, two clerics were killed and a third was injured in a knife attack at a Shia shrine in the north-eastern city of Mashhad. |
| An ethnic Uzbek man was hanged in June after being found guilty of carrying out the stabbings, for which police did not reveal the motive. | An ethnic Uzbek man was hanged in June after being found guilty of carrying out the stabbings, for which police did not reveal the motive. |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Iran | Iran |