Iran Executes Man for Killing Cleric

Cleric Abbas Ali Soleimani (Fars news agency)
Cleric Abbas Ali Soleimani (Fars news agency)
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Iran Executes Man for Killing Cleric

Cleric Abbas Ali Soleimani (Fars news agency)
Cleric Abbas Ali Soleimani (Fars news agency)

Iran on Wednesday executed a man who was convicted of fatally shooting a senior cleric in April, state media reported.

The attacker, who has not been named, shot at cleric Abbas Ali Soleimani and killed him on April 26 in a bank in Babolsar city in the northern province of Mazandaran.

CCTV camera footage released by Tasnim news agency showed the attacker, a local security officer of the bank, shooting a religious man from behind as he was sitting in a chair at the bank, wearing a black religious uniform and a white turban.

“The sentence of qesas for the murderer of Abbas Ali Soleimani was carried out Wednesday after being approved by the country's Supreme Court,” a local official said, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online website.

Soleimani, 75, was previously a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and led Friday prayers in the cities of Kashan and Zahedan.

He was also a member of the Assembly of Experts that selects the country's supreme leader.



Israel Asks ICC Judges to Withdraw Netanyahu Arrest Warrant 

A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Asks ICC Judges to Withdraw Netanyahu Arrest Warrant 

A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)
A person holds a fake arrest warrant for Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as another holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration on the Place Stalingrad to protest against the Interior Minister's decision to dissolve the antifascist group Jeune Garde and the Urgence Palestine collective in Paris, on May 6, 2025. (AFP)

Israel has asked judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to withdraw arrest warrants against its prime minister and defense minister while the ICC reviews Israeli challenges to its jurisdiction over the conduct of the Gaza war.

Documents published on the ICC website late on Sunday also show Israel has asked the court to order the prosecution to suspend its investigation into alleged atrocity crimes in the Palestinian Territories.

The documents are dated May 9 and signed by Israeli Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on Nov. 21 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

The ICC said in February that judges had withdrawn the arrest warrant for al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, following credible reports of his death.

Israel, which rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza, is contesting the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

In April the ICC's appeals chamber ruled that the judges of the pre-trial chamber which issued the warrants must review Israel's objections regarding the court's jurisdiction and the legality of the arrest warrants.

It is not clear what form the ordered review will take and there are no specific deadlines set for decisions on Israel's request to withdraw the warrants and halt the investigation.