Member of Assembly of Experts assassinated in northern Iran

A member of Iran’s influential clerical body has been assassinated in an armed attack in the country’s northern province of Mazandaran.

Ayatollah Abbasali Soleimani, a member of the Assembly of Experts and also a former representative of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan, died in hospital on Wednesday after being shot at a bank in the city of Babolsar, Mehr news agency reported.

General Governor of Mazandaran Province, Seyyed Mahmoud Hosseinipour, told the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) television news channel that an investigation is underway to find out the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident and the motive behind the assassination.

The Assembly of Experts elects and oversees the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and is in a position of authority to either appoint or dismiss the 

Leader.

Members are directly elected to office by the people for an eight-year term. The body holds biannual meetings to review major national issues and every other year to appoint a new chairman.