Eight MPs representing Isfahan Province have written to the Iranian president to object to possible plans to bury American Richard Frye, a noted Iran scholar, in Isfahan.
ISNA reports that the MPs have reminded Hassan Rohani of “Isfahan’s cultural, religious and political atmosphere,” maintaining that the burial of Richard Frye in the city of Isfahan would “injure the religious and national honour of the people.”
Richard Nelson Frye passed away in March at the age of 94 in Boston, and his will stipulates that he should be buried in Isfahan. A number of figures in the Iranian establishment, however, have accused him of having been a CIA agent and have shown fierce opposition to his last wish.
The letter says the burial of Richard Frye in Isfahan would be a “diplomatic disgrace” and calls on Rohani to direct the ministries of foreign affairs, intelligence and cultural heritage to stop it from proceeding.
Otherwise, the letter adds, they may have to face “the fierce and uncontrolled reaction of the public.”
