| I've been to Rock City, but I haven't made it to Bomb City yet. I guess that's one of those peculiarly Islamic attractions. Wonder what the local equivalent of Muffler Man is? |
 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been due to visit the southern city where bombs at a bank and government building killed six people Tuesday, his officials have said. Ahmadinejad had been due to visit Ahvaz on Tuesday, but his office said he cancelled the trip on Monday night. Differing reasons for the cancellation were reported: Reuters said it was due to sandstorms that would have wrecked his hallmark walks through the streets while the official Islamic Republic News Agency, quoted by The Associated Press, said heavy rain was to blame.
| Sandstorms and heavy rain, huh? Lousy weather we're having this week. Careful! Don't step on all those lips! |
Ahmadinejad and his entire Cabinet had been expected to meet in Ahvaz -- a city with a history of violence involving members of Iran's Arab minority -- as one of a series of visits to regional capitals to address key local issues. Lebanon's al-Manar television, run by the Hezbollah militant group, said earlier that Tuesday's bombs had been intended to kill Ahmadinejad. Its Tehran correspondent said the president had canceled his trip after a security tip-off.
| That's more believable that simultaneous sandstorms and pounding rain... |
Ahvaz city governor Mohammad Jafar Samari said there was no word yet on who planted the bombs. "The place where the bombs exploded was a long way from where the president had planned to make a speech," he told Reuters.
| Which kinda negates the security tipoff, too... |
Iranian news agencies said the Saman bank was gutted by fire and broken glass littered streets near the blast sites. State TV said six people were killed and 34 others wounded. Officials at Ahvaz's Mehr hospital said one person needed a leg amputating and another three of the wounded might need similar operations, AP said.
| Ahah! Legume! My cape! And my saxophone!... [Blows a few bars of "St. James Infirmary"... Tries "Lady of Spain"...] So! A total of four people had legs blown off, did they? And were they, by chance, all left legs? |
Iranian authorities are sensitive about protests in Ahvaz and the surrounding province of Khuzestan, which sits on most of the country's oil reserves, the second biggest in the world. Bombings took place in Ahvaz last June and October that the government blamed on Iranian Arab extremists whom it claimed were trained abroad and had ties to foreign governments, including Britain. |