Sixth Incident in Recent Weeks; Attack with 'Cold Weapon' on Another 'Cleric' in Saveh

Judicial officials in Saveh County reported that an individual attacked a cleric with a 'knife' in this county, resulting in his injury. This is the sixth incident in the past two weeks where clerics have been targeted. According to Iranian media, Abolhasan Sharifi, the head of the judiciary in Saveh County, stated on Sunday morning that on the evening of Saturday, the 16th of Ordibehesht, a 'young cleric' was stabbed in 'Ahmadabad village' located in the central part of Saveh. According to the 'Tasnim' news agency, which is close to the security institutions of the Islamic Republic, the injured cleric was transferred to 'Shahid Modarres' hospital and underwent 'surgery' on his 'neck and groin' and is currently alive. The head of the judiciary in Saveh County announced the 'arrest' of the assailant and stated that, according to the 'order of the chief justice', the perpetrator or perpetrators of this incident will be dealt with 'as quickly as possible'. On the 6th of Ordibehesht this year, while Abbasali Soleimani, the former representative of Ali Khamenei in Sistan and Baluchestan and a member of the Assembly of Experts, was shot dead in a Babolsar bank in Mazandaran province, another cleric was reportedly 'run over' in western Tehran on Marzdaran Street. On the 9th of Ordibehesht, another cleric was 'run over' in Safaieh Street in Qom and then was also stabbed by the driver. On the 12th of Ordibehesht, another cleric named Ebrahim Fazel, who was introduced as the son of Mohammad Fazel (brother of the wife of Seyyed Mahmoud Nabavian, a hardline cleric and representative of Tehran in the parliament), went missing, and three days later, after his body was found in the waters off Juybar, the 'Mazandaran Seminary' immediately issued a statement claiming that any possibility of 'malicious intent' against this individual was 'ruled out'. Following the increase in physical confrontations with Shia clerics in recent months, some government figures have attributed it to 'enemies', while some religious figures have attributed it to the behavior of the ruling system. Ali Fallahian, the former Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic, in response to the killing of Abbasali Soleimani, said: 'I told the Friday prayer leaders that neglecting protection is very dangerous, and now after this incident, I suggest that Friday prayer leaders learn self-defense and know that the enemy does not neglect.' Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Javad Alavi Borujerdi also stated on the 11th of Ordibehesht in his 'advanced jurisprudence' class in response to the incident on the 9th of Ordibehesht in Qom and similar cases, addressing government officials and clerics, said: 'The gap between the people and the clergy has widened, and this increasing distance and distrust will have bad consequences.' Since the beginning of last year's nationwide protests, movements such as 'tossing turbans' among protesters, especially the youth, have emerged in response to the role and influence of Shia clerics in the current state of the country. Responsible officials following these cases have not yet provided details about the attackers' motives. A cleric in Qom was attacked with 'knife blows'. Police confirmed: A 35-year-old cleric was 'run over' in Tehran.