In the latest in a series of attacks on clergy in Iran, a cleric had his neck slashed while leaving Tehran's metro.

Jaber Rezaei was chased on Monday by a man who had picked him out on the subway and attacked him when leaving the Rudaki metro station.

He was rushed to hospital where medical examinations found that he had a slash of around 10 centimeters on his neck near the artery. He is currently receiving treatment after being admitted to the trauma department.

Last month another cleric was stabbed in central Markazi province and taken to hospital after being wounded by his assailant, a young man in his twenties.

In late April, a former Khamenei aide associated with the mass executions of the 1980s was assassinated in a bank in the northern city of Babolsar.

Since the 1979 revolution, the clergy have gained increasing power, but discontent has risen in recent years, particularly amid waves of protests over economic, political, and civil rights issues.