Key facts
- Sunni Kurdish cleric Mamosta Mohammad Nezhati was killed in northwestern Iran.
- The Revolutionary Guards blamed 'Zionist-American Kurdish separatist groups' for the attack.
- The Guards stated the killing was an attempt to create divisions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.
- Nezhati was identified as a member of the Basij paramilitary force.
- The incident follows the July killing of Sunni Baluch prayer leader Molavi Mohammad Anvar Rigi.
Sunni Kurdish cleric Mamosta Mohammad Nezhati was killed in northwestern Iran, according to a statement from the Revolutionary Guards reported by the semi-official Mehr news agency. The Guards accused "Zionist-American Kurdish separatist groups" of carrying out the attack, stating that the killing of the local cleric was an attempt to create divisions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and undermine security in the province.
The semi-official Fars news agency described Nezhati as a member of Basij, a paramilitary force linked to the Guards, and quoted the Guards' statement indicating he had a long history of cooperation with Basij organizations.
This killing follows that of Molavi Mohammad Anvar Rigi, a Sunni Baluch Friday prayer leader in the southeastern border town of Mirjaveh, who was killed by unidentified gunmen in July. Iran has faced militancy in its border provinces with large ethnic minority populations, targeting security forces and state-associated figures.
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