Arab and Iranian sources confirmed Wednesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escaped an assassination attempt in the city of Hamadan and that several people were wounded. The Iranian conservative Khabaronline.ir website said that the attacker was arrested.
Iran's semi-official media originally confirmed the report, but the office of Ahmadinejad later denied it, claiming that someone threw a firecracker at his motorcade to celebrate his arrival.
The Arabic-language Arabiya website, which is considered responsible and has published several articles against Ahmadinejad, reported that the “Iranian presidency confirms that President Ahmadinejad escaped an assassination attempt as his procession was targeted by a bomb.”
Arabiya said that Ahmadinejad’s procession was targeted by a bomb, but other sources said a grenade was thrown at the convoy and landed approximately 300 feet from Ahmadinejad's car. After the attack, Ahmadinejad continued with his schedule and addressed a crowd as planned.
Iran’s semi-official media reported in mid-July that Israel, in collaboration with Iranian terror groups, plotted to kill the Iranian leader. “The Zionist regime had met with the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) to execute the plan,” according to the Fars News Agency.