Iran provincial governor slapped in a rare security breach

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The new governor of a northwestern Iranian province has been slapped in the face by an angry man during his inauguration. The attack Saturday represented an unusual breach of security in the Islamic Republic during a ceremony attended by the country’s interior minister. A motive for the attack in Iran’s Eastern Azerbaijan province remained unclear, though it targeted a new provincial governor who once served in the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and reportedly had been kidnapped at one point by rebel forces in Syria. One report referred to it as a personal dispute.