An assassination attempt against a prominent reformist newspaper editor in Iran has sparked nationwide outrage. Saeed Hajjarian, editor of the outspoken reformist newspaper Sobh-e Emrouz , was shot at close range early on Sunday, March 12 as he headed to a Tehran City Council meeting.
Eyewitnesses report that the gunman fled with an accomplice in a dark high-powered motorcycle.
Widespread condemnation Iranian religious and government leaders quickly condemned the shooting of Hajjarian, who lies in a coma at a Tehran hospital with a bullet lodged in his neck. Colonel Hossein Mostoufi, Investigating Officer for Iran's Law Enforcement Forces, visits the critically injured Saeed Hajjarian in a Tehran hospital. Hajjarian, a key advisor to moderate President Mohamed Khatami, is the IIPF's leading theoretician. The IIPF and other reformist parties convincingly won Iran's parliamentary elections last February . Hajjarian campaigned for reformist candidates, although he did not run for office himself.