Kazem Sami

Kazem Sami was a physician, member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, and Islamic nationalist political figure who served as Iran's Minister of Health in the early post-revolution provisional government. A follower of Mohammad Mossadegh's nationalist tradition, he became increasingly critical of the consolidation of clerical power. On 23 November 1988, Sami was attacked with an axe in his Tehran medical clinic and killed. His murder is considered likely the first victim of the chain murders — the decade-long campaign of assassinations carried out by rogue units within the Ministry of Intelligence. The connection was only established years later when the 1998 murders brought the entire chain to light.