Iranian MP Attacked, Injured In Shiraz

An Iranian legislator who has called for the release of opposition leaders from house arrest has been reportedly assaulted in the southern city of Shiraz.

Iran's IRNA news agency reports that the incident occurred on March 9 at the airport in Shiraz, where Ali Motahari had arrived to deliver a speech.

People on motorcycles attacked Motahari's car with stones and sticks, breaking the windows, before the car drove away to a nearby police station. Motahari reportedly sustained an eye injury in the attack and had to cancel his speech.

Motahari has been advocating the release of opposition leaders Mehdi Karrubi and Mir Hossein Musavi, who have been held under arrest since 2011 over protests that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election.

In January, several hard-line conservative lawmakers interrupted Motahari during a a speech in the parliament as he was criticizing the opposition leaders’ continued house arrest.

In October, Motahari wrote an open letter to President Hassan Rohani warning him that if he did not end the house arrests, he would be summoned to parliament.

With reporting by IRNA and en.trend.az