A powerful cleric has been killed in an armed attack in Iran. The deadly attack on Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani took place in a bank in the northern Iranian city of Babolsar, the state news agency IRNA reported today, citing police and security forces. The attacker was arrested and is being questioned.
According to authorities, the motive for the attack has not yet been determined. The governor of Masandaran province said the alleged perpetrator was a member of the bank’s security service.
Soleimani, 75, was the representative of the country’s current spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was also a member of the council of experts that elects Iran’s supreme leader. The body is made up of 88 clergy who are elected for eight-year terms.
The constitution entrusts the group with electing the country’s supreme leader and overseeing his work. The Expert Council can also dismiss him.
