In one of the biggest high profile assasination since the start of Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, a renowned religious leader who served on the committee that selects Iran’s top leaders was killed on Wednesday.

In the northern Mazandaran province’s city of Babolsar, Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani was assassinated at a time when he was sitting on bench inside a bank, and it is reported that his assailant, a security guard was detained.

According to local authorities cited by the Iranian news agency IRNA, “Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani was killed in an armed attack… the assailant was also arrested.”

The 88 members of Iran’s assembly of experts, which chooses supreme leaders, included Soleimani, 75, a former representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Additionally, he presided over the weekly prayers in Sistan-Baluchistan and Isfahan province cities.

Sistan and Baluchestan have had a significant number of anti-regime demonstrations, according to Jason Brodsky, policy director of the US-based organisation United Against Nuclear Iran.
Since the start of the violent anti-regime protests in September 2022, which were sparked by the death of a young woman in police detention, Soleimani looks to be the most senior cleric to have been slain in Iran.

Masha Amini, 22, was arrested for wearing her hijab improperly and was beaten to death as a result. Her passing sparked great outrage and led to statewide demonstrations that the government violently put an end to.

Although Iran continues to be rocked by large-scale demonstrations against the government and a persistent crackdown on dissidents, it was not immediately evident who was responsible for Wednesday’s strike.

According to reports, Israel is believed to have carried out high-profile assassinations in Iran recently, the majority of those victims were connected to Iranian intelligence and Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel views as an existential threat.

It follows a jihadist attack that left two clerics dead and another injured in the northern city of Mashhad.

And in November, unidentified assailants shot and killed a Shia cleric in the unrest-plagued Iranian city of Zahedan.

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