Sunday, July 01, 2007

DAR AL ISLAM - IRAN: A THIRD SENIOR CLERIC, IN IRAN, HAS BEEN ASSASSINATED

Iran in crisis after cleric's murder
by Marie Colvin

THE assassination of a prominent cleric in an oil-rich Iranian province, coinciding with violent protests in Tehran over the rationing of petrol, has plunged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad into his biggest crisis since he was elected two years ago.

The murder on June 24 of Hesham Saymary in Ahvaz, the centre of Iran's oil-producing province in the south, was a blow to a regime that is already under pressure because of international condemnation of its nuclear program and the prospect of economic meltdown.

The assassination, the third of a senior cleric this year, bore the hallmarks of a well-planned murder. According to witnesses, the gunmen waited outside Saymary's house for him to arrive home about 10pm. They called out to the cleric as he was about to open his door and shot him three times. He died instantly.

...



Pertinent Links:

1) Iran in crisis after cleric's murder

No comments: