DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report a large bomb exploded against the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's heavily secured armored convoy as it drove through the northern Iranian city of Hamadan Wednesday, Aug. 4. He was reported unhurt. Some of his bodyguards and bystanders were killed or injured.
Iranian media reported the explosion hit a minivan carrying correspondents and one attacker was arrested. Later, the president's office said the bang was caused by a "firecracker."
After the attack, Ahmadinejad switched vehicles and was soon standing on a platform in the town center and making a speech televised live.
Hamadan's population is purely Iranian Shiite with none of the ethnic or religious minorities persecuted by the regime. It is located on the site of the Biblical Shushan, several hundreds kilometers west of Tehran.