By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A conservative Iranian lawmaker physically assaulted a confidant of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday for trying pay legislators not to vote for the impeachment of the interior minister.
Mohammad Abbasi, director of the government's representative office at the Iranian parliament, complained that he was "attacked" by the lawmaker and his ear was hurt, the official IRNA news agency reported.
At the time of the assault, IRNA said Abbasi was lobbying to convince lawmakers not to vote against the minister, Ali Kordan, who is scheduled to face an impeachment hearing next week after admitting he held a fake honorary degree from Britain's Oxford University.
"While I was deliberating with a number of lawmakers over the impeachment motion, this lawmaker attacked me and physically assaulted me," IRNA quoted Abbasi as saying.
Another lawmaker, Ali Riyaz, confirmed to The Associated Press that fellow parliament member, Ali Asghar Zarei, slapped Abbasi across the face. Riyaz declined to provide further comment.
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