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Police Cite Suicide in Death of Iranian Who Burned Khamenei Portrait

Funeral footage circulating online has fueled doubts about the official account.

Overview

  • Omid Sarlak, a young man from Lorestan, posted an Instagram video on Friday burning a portrait of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with audio of the deposed Shah.
  • He was found dead with a gunshot wound in his car over the weekend in Aligoudarz, with police saying a handgun was beside him.
  • Local police chief Ali Asadollahi said the case is being handled as a suicide and announced an investigation to determine the exact cause.
  • Footage from Monday’s funeral showed chants of “They killed him” and “Death to Khamenei,” as state-linked outlets repeated the suicide claim and said there was no case against him.
  • Sarlak’s father was filmed saying “They killed my boy,” then later told state TV not to trust social media reports, and no independently verified forensic findings have been released.