Iranian cleric appears unhurt after brief attack in central Iran

His motives have to be investigated," Isfahan's Friday prayers imam, Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabai-Nejad, told state television in a video interview. Iran has faced weeks of unrest after a jump in food prices and public anger against government leaders over a deadly building collapse widely blamed on corruption and lax safety measures.

A senior conservative Iranian cleric appeared to be unhurt after a brief attack by a man during Friday prayers in the central city of Isfahan, state media reported. "It was a young man who likely had a problem and who suddenly attacked and he wasn't able to do anything - except a blow hit my neck - but he was held back. His motives have to be investigated," Isfahan's Friday prayers imam, Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabai-Nejad, told state television in a video interview.

Iran has faced weeks of unrest after a jump in food prices and public anger against government leaders over a deadly building collapse widely blamed on corruption and lax safety measures. Attacks on clerics and government officials are rare in Iran after authorities tightened security measures and cracked down on opposition groups following a string of attacks and bombings that killed dozens of officials and clerics following the 1979 Islamic revolution.