At the time of the shooting, Karroubi was leaving a house he was staying in while visiting a friend in the town, and government supporters were rallying outside the building. Karroubi’s bodyguards did not return fire. They were also unharmed.
“God knows why a hand, which should defend people and the country, opens fire on the people,’’ Karroubi said. The shots shattered the car windows, reported Sahamnews website.
Karroubi ran in June’s disputed presidential election that the opposition says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won by fraud. Unrest began immediately after the government announcement declaring Ahmadinejad the victor, with mass street protests followed by a ferocious government crackdown. The opposition says more than 80 protesters have been killed in the crackdown, but the government puts the number of confirmed dead at less than 40.
In late December, protests gained momentum again and clashes between security forces and opposition supporters killed at least eight people - the worst violence since the height of the unrest in the summer.
The shooting against Karroubi, however, was unusual. Karroubi’s car was pelted by a brick-wielding mob in December. In 1999, another reformist politician, Saeed Hajjarian, was shot in the face and paralyzed.
The attack raised concerns that the political turmoil rocking Iran could be spiraling out of the government’s control. An editor of a reformist website in Tehran said he feared for Karroubi’s life.
“It was not just a single threat,’’ the editor said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “It’s a move for the physical elimination of Karroubi and other opposition leaders.’’
None of Iran’s official or semiofficial news outlets reported on the shooting.
Since the bloodshed last month, death threats against opposition leaders have increased, with progovernment demonstrations last week calling for the execution of Karroubi and the top opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Senior cleric Kazem Sedighi appeared to give the green light yesterday for people to take matters into their own hands against opposition figures.
“I am concerned that people will lose patience if the legal apparatus does not conduct its affairs in a timely manner,’’ Sedighi said during a sermon in Tehran. He also claimed some of the 500 protesters arrested around the Shi’ite holy day of Ashoura on Dec. 27 were intoxicated.
During the prayers yesterday, hard-line lawmaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel appeared to lash out Karroubi, accusing him of serving the enemies of Iran.
“Why did you pave the ground for the plots of foreign enemies?’’ said Adel, an ally of Iran’s supreme leader. “You damaged the reputation of the system,’’ he added, without mentioning Karroubi by name.
