Iranian cleric who helped found Hezbollah dies aged 74

Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, a Shiite cleric who as Iran’s ambassador to Syria helped found the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and lost his right hand to a book bombing reportedly carried out by Israel, died of coronavirus aged 74.

A close ally of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Mr Mohtashamipour in the 1970s formed alliances with Muslim militant groups across the Mideast.