Extremists attack participants in memorial for Iranian
premier Mossadegh
TEHRAN, May 20 (AFP) - Several people were slightly injured when extremists
attacked a gathering to commemorate the birthday of deceased prime minister
Mohammad Mossadegh, the father of secular nationalism in Iran, newspapers
said Thursday.
The assailants interrupted a speech by liberal opposition figure Ezatollah
Sahabi, a former president in charge of the Plan and Budget Organisation,
and slightly wounded several participants in the ceremony at Ahmad Abad
village where Mossadegh was born, the Tehran press said.
"The attack by the extremists disrupted the ceremony and the crowd
dispersed," Jahan-e-Eslam said, adding that the assailants then damaged
the participants' vehicles in the village, which is 100 kilometers (62
miles) west of Tehran.
The Islamic Republic's security forces intervened, arresting "several
young nationalists as well as several extremists," the pro-government
newspaper said.
In recent months, youths have been heard chanting pro-Mossadegh slogans
at nationalist political rallies in Tehran. Mossadegh, who served as
prime minister under the Shah in the 1950s, was responsible for nationalising
the Iranian oil sector.
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