Iran: What Grenade? That Was a Firecracker

Government denies attack against Ahmadinejad

By John Johnson

Posted Aug 4, 2010 5:03 PM CDT

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Iran: What Grenade? That Was a Firecracker — Smoke rises next to a vehicle transporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, as he arrives in the city of Hamedan. (AP Photo/ISNA, Saman Aghvami)

The official line coming out of Iran is that today's bang-and-smoke scare was a firecracker thrown to celebrate the arrival of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—not a grenade thrown to kill him. The semi-official Fars news agency, which first reported a homemade grenade near the president's motorcade, changed its tune, as did state-run TV, reports BBC.

"An excited young man from Hamadan exploded a firecracker in order to express his happiness," said state news agency IRNA. "It did not cause any disturbance among the crowd which was giving a warm welcome to the president." An anonymous source in the president's office, however, tells Reuters that Ahmadinejad was indeed the target.

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