Iranian police arrested the “main killer” of director Dariush Mehrjui who was stabbed to death along with his wife over the weekend, Tasnim news agency reported.
The 83-year-old, associated with the Iranian new wave of cinema, and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar, a 54-year-old screenwriter, were killed at their home in Karaj, west of Tehran, on Saturday.
“The main killer who was among those arrested by the police was identified and confirmed” during preliminary investigations, Tasnim said, citing the police.
“Interrogations are still ongoing to identify the accomplices and hidden angles of this murder.”
Police have arrested 10 people over the killings, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported, without providing further details.
Prominent figures from Iran’s film industry joined hundreds of mourners Wednesday for the funeral of Mehrjui and his wife, among them the directors Jafar Panahi and Massoud Kimiai.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has ruled out any “link between the murder of Mehrjui and the serial assassinations” of dissident intellectuals in November 1998 committed by the country’s secret service.
The 1998 crimes were attributed by the government to “uncontrolled elements” from the intelligence ministry, who were sentenced to prison terms of up to life.
