Two pro-government plainclothes agents attacked two of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s children at a funeral service in Shahr-e Rey, the Islamic Republic of Iran newspaper reports.
The report indicates that daughters of Ayatollah Rafsanjani were targeted, and when the moderate cleric’s two nephews tried to intervene, the attackers fought back with electronic stun guns.
The two attackers then began to chant “Death to Hashemi!,” but the crowd attending the funeral stopped the altercation from spreading any further.
Ayatollah Rafsanjani is chairman of the two top government bodies, the Assembly of Experts and the the Expediency Council, and one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic, but he has been the targeted by Iranian hardliners following the renewal of anti-government protests on February 14.
On Sunday, when protesters once again took to the streets to commemorate the two people killed during the previous bout of street demonstrations, Faezeh Hashemi, the moderate cleric’s daughter, was briefly arrested for inciting protests.
Pro-government forces claim that Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was behind the protests that followed the disputed victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 elections.
During the campaign, Ahmadinejad accused the Hashemi family of corruption, prompting them to file complaints against him.
The Supreme Leader’s support for Ahmadinejad has created a deep rift between the leader and Ayatollah Rafsanjani.
The chairman of the Assembly of Experts, which supervises the actions of the leader, has thrown his weight behind election protesters and those who challenge Ahmadinejad’s re-election.
Since the start of fresh street protests last week, several hardliners have called for Hashemi’s dismissal from his government posts.
