A senior Iranian Shiite Muslim cleric and member of the powerful Assembly of Experts has been killed in a gun attack in northern Iran, state media report on Wednesday.
Irna news agency said the attacker was arrested and the motive was not clear.
Ayatollah Abbasali Soleimani died in hospital after being shot at a bank in Babolsar, in Mazandaran province.
Soleimani was one of 88 clerics on the Assembly of Experts.
He also previously served as the personal representative of the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the restive south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, stepping down in 2019 after 17 years in the role.
Soleimani, who was in his mid-70s, was reportedly sitting inside a branch of Bank Melli in Babolsar on Wednesday morning when he was shot.
The governor of Mazandaran, Mahmoud Hosseinipour, told state TV that the attacker was a bank guard.
"So far, our information and documents indicate that this was not a security or terrorist act," it quoted him as saying.
