"Iran says explosion near Ahmadinejad was fireworks, not an assassination attempt" by Associated Press | August 5, 2010
TEHRAN — Iran’s official news agency said yesterday that an explosion near the president’s convoy was just an excited fan setting off fireworks, denying earlier reports of an assassination attempt.
A fan set off a firecracker similar to those used during sports matches to express his excitement at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the western Iranian town of Hamedan, the IRNA news agency reported. The blast near the president’s convoy had set off a flurry of media reports, including one that a grenade had exploded.
The conservative Iranian website khabaronline.ir said a grenade exploded as the president’s convoy headed from the airport to the venue where Ahmadinejad was to deliver a speech, but did not harm him.
Eyewitnesses in Hamedan said the explosion definitely came from a firecracker.
“It was a firecracker, which made a sound and produced smoke near where I was standing,’’ Amin Mehrabi said in a telephone interview. “Many people filmed it with their cellphone cameras.’’
Iran’s deputy police chief, General Ahmad Reza Radan, told the state news agency the reports about the explosion were lies circulated by foreign media.
Noooooooo!
Ahmadinejad went on to give his speech as planned, and it was broadcast live on state television. He made no mention of the attack in his remarks, focusing instead on the country’s disputed nuclear program.
Yeah, don't forget about that nuclear program, Americans.
That is what we will be using to justify an illegal attack on Iran.
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