Group claims responsibility for London murders

Press, 5 October 1987, Page 6

Group claims responsibility for London murders

NZPA-AFP London A man who said he represented the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution yesterday claimed responsibility for the killing on Saturday of two Iranians opposed to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. British police urged Iranian dissidents who felt threatened to ask for protection, and the Iranian Embassy said the British Government was responsible for the safety of Iranian citizens living in Britain. In a telephone call to Britain’s domestic news agency, the Press Association, an anonymous caller made a death threat against Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran, and against all Iranian monarchists. “Regarding the assassinations ... we are the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution and soldiers of Imam Khomeini,” the man said. “We will kill every monarchist and we will kill the Shah’s son. “We are here forever and you cannot do a damn thing about it.”

Mohamed Ali TavakoliNabavi, aged 58, and his son Nureddin, 24, were found dead in their Wembley home after being shot several times in the head. They had lived in Britain since 1979 and had political refugee status Mr Tavakoli-Nabavi, an engineer who fled Iran after the Shah’s fall, led a tiny monarchist dissident group in exile called the Javanan National Movement. He frequently criticised the Khomeini Government at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. An Iranian embassy statement Issued by Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency said the two men were found shot dead at their home, but gave no further details. “While condemning any kind of inhuman and terrorist act, especially the killing of innocent people, the Embassy ... states that providing security for Iranian citizens residing in Britain is the reponsibility of the British Government,” the statement said.