Assailants throw acid in face of Iranian hospital manager

Two attackers on a motorbike threw acid in the face of a Tehran hospital manager, police said Sunday, the latest in a string of such attacks that have mostly targeted women.

In a statement posted on its website, the police said Dr. Siamand Anvari, head of Ziaian hospital, was attacked late Saturday while on his way back home and was later rushed to a hospital. Mahmoud Jabbarvand, one of the medics who treated him, was quoted by the semiofficial ISNA news agency as saying he would not lose his vision and would be discharged in the coming days.

At least four women were attacked with acid in the central city of Isfahan in October, prompting protests. It was not immediately clear if the attack in Tehran was related to those in Isfahan.

An ongoing investigation into the Isfahan attacks suggests the attacks were carried out by the same individual. Police have arrested four suspects in the case but say the attacker has not yet been identified.

Local media have suggested the women were targeted because they failed to adhere to the country's conservative dress code. Iranian women must cover themselves in public and wear headscarves. But Iran’s police chief Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam has dismissed the idea that the women were attacked because of the way they dressed.

Iran’s judiciary has vowed an “exemplary punishment” once the attacker is convicted. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehei, Iran’s deputy judiciary chief, has said the culprits should receive the “most serious punishment” – apparently referring to the death penalty.