Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 12
By Umid Niayesh - Trend: Iranian Deputy Industry, Mines and Trade Minister, Safdar Rahmatabadi`s murder may be linked to "economic issues", Iranian Etemad newspaper reported on Nov. 12.
Rahmatabadi was been killed by an unidentified gunman in Tehran on November 10.
He was shot twice in head and chest on Golbarg Street, an Eastern neighborhood of the capital, Tehran.
According to police, the bullets were shot from inside the victim's vehicle and the killer was talking to Rahmatabadi before shooting him.
The incident caused the Iranian media to focus on another murder which happened on November 7.
Former Lahijan and Anzali city board member, who works for the Parand New City Development Company, Shamsaddin Pourbagheri was killed in the same way.
Pourbagheri, was killed by knife inside his vehicle by someone travelling with him in his car.
So far, police and security officials have not talked about a possible relationship between the two crimes, the report said.
The deputy minister had faced various pressures related to the dismissal of about 200 people from the Parand project who were hired in the last several months of Ahmajinedad's administration, the report said.
Etemad quoted Tehran Police Chief Ali Reza Mehrabi as saying the Rahmatabadi murder is most likely personal and not political.
Commenting on the incident, Iran's Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Ali Abdollahi said that the killing of Rahmatabadi happened through a personal motive and talk of security and political intends is not correct.
It is while, Rahmatabadi`s family does not think there is a personal motive behind the incident.
Etemad quoted the victim's brother, Mozaffar Rahmatabadi as saying "Rahmatabadi and his family had no problem with any person or group, and we can not accept that the incident happened as the result of a personal falling out."
Tehran's deputy Prosecutor, Fereydoun Amirabadi has stated that no one has been arrested so far regarding to the crime, adding that the investigation on the issue continues.
Head of Tehran's Criminal Police, Colonel Abbas Ali Mohammadian has dismissed the possibility of any connection between the two incidents, saying that evidences indicate that these incidents are not related to each other.