Iran's presidential guards shoot man carrying sword
February 5, 2018
Guards at the presidential office complex in Tehran shot at and wounded a man carrying a sword and trying to enter the compound, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.
The 35-year-old man, who was shot in the leg, was taken to hospital. There was no information on his identity and possible motives.
IRNA said the man had managed to pass through the first of several security checkpoints in the complex. It wasn't immediately known whether President Hassan Rouhani was on site when the incident took place.
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The Iranian Tasnim news agency reported that the man was wearing a white shroud, symbolizing his readiness to sacrifice his life.
"An individual wearing a shroud tried to push through the doors of the president's office and was warned by security guards," Tehran's deputy governor for security Mohsen Nasj-Hamedani told the Fars and Tasnim news agencies.
Iranian men occasionally carry swords and daggers, especially when they wear traditional attires.
ap/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP)