Iran hangs 3 men convicted of mosque bombing

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran hanged three men on Friday for their involvement in a bombing inside a packed mosque that killed 14 people nearly a year ago, the official IRNA news agency reported. The three, who were not identified, were hanged in Abdel Abad prison in the southern city of Shiraz near where the attack occurred, the agency said. The sentencing was carried out after Iran's Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdicts against them. Iran's Revolutionary Court found the three men guilty in November for their involvement in the April 12 bombing that also wounded more than 200 people. The court, which handles state security cases, also found the three guilty of having links to the United States and planning to destabilize Iran through a campaign of bombings and assassinations. It said they had confessed. According to the court, the three said they were members of the Iran Royal Association, a little known monarchist group that wants to overthrow the country's ruling Islamic establishment. Iran has repeatedly accused the U.S. and Britain of backing militants and ethnic opposition groups to destabilize the Tehran government. Both countries have denied the accusations. The mosque that was bombed is part of the Rahpouyan-e-Vesal cultural center in Shiraz, about 550 miles (885 kilometers) south of Iran's capital, Tehran. The mosque was packed with about 1,000 worshippers at the time of the explosion. Bombings are unusual in Shiraz, where tourists come to see the ruins of nearby Persepolis, an ancient Persian kingdom that was a center for ceremonies and worship. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-ml-iran-mosque-explosion,1,7178473.story