Former Iranian provincial official killed amid unrest in northeastern city: Report

ISTANBUL

A former acting deputy governor for political and security affairs in Iran’s Semnan province was killed Friday evening in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Iranian media reported Saturday.

The semiofficial Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said Farajollah Shooshtari was killed during unrest in the city, calling the incident an “assassination” carried out by armed individuals.

According to the report, Shooshtari was previously involved in social and cultural activities in Mashhad.

Tasnim said Shooshtari was the son of Nourali Shooshtari, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander who was killed in a suicide bombing in 2009 in southeastern Iran.

Iranian authorities have not yet released an official statement on the news, which comes some two weeks into widespread protests across the country.