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.



Massive Russian Strike on Kyiv Kills 9, Injures Dozens

This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
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Massive Russian Strike on Kyiv Kills 9, Injures Dozens

This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers operating at the site of a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / State Emergency Service of Ukraine / AFP)

A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack hit Kyiv overnight, killing nine people and injuring another 70, including six children, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday.
The Kyiv City Military Administration said on its Telegram channel that Russia struck Kyiv with drones and ballistic missiles. At least 45 drones were detected, the administration said, adding that Ukraine's Air Force would update the figures later.
The attack came hours after peace negotiations appeared to stall, with President Donald Trump lashing out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was prolonging the “killing field” by pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.
Zelenskyy has said multiple times that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.
At least 42 people were hospitalized in Kyiv, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. Rescue operations were still underway early morning Thursday to find bodies under the rubble.
At a Kyiv residential building that was almost entirely destroyed, emergency workers removed rubble with their hands, rescuing a trapped woman who emerged from the wreckage covered in white dust and moaning in pain, The Associated Press reported.
An elderly woman sat against a brick wall, face smeared with blood, her eyes fixed to the ground in shock as medics tended to her wounds.
Fires were reported in several residential buildings said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city military administration.
The attack, which began around 1:00 a.m., hit at least five neighborhoods in Kyiv. In Sviatoshynkskyi district, a fire broke out in a residential building that was damaged in the attack.
The Associated Press saw rescue teams dig out people trapped under the rubble of the building and dead bodies being taken away.
More fires were reported in the Shevchenkivsky and Holosiivskyi districts.