In a major development local news agencies in Iran are reporting that the head of the Criminal Prosecutors Office Mohammad Shahriari, has said that former Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi has confessed to the murder of his second wife.
"Moments ago, Mohammad Ali Najafi went to a police station and surrendered,” Shahriari said.
Tehran’s police chief Alireza Lotfi, also confirmed the arrest.
Tuesday's report by the ISNA news agency says Mitra Najafi was killed in northern Tehran. She is the second wife of Mohammad Ali Najafi, a former reformist mayor of Tehran and a confidant of President Hassan Rouhani.
Najafi resigned as mayor in 2018, after hard-liners criticized him over a video showing he attended a dance performance by young girls at a school show.
Polygamy is legal in Iran, though some criticized Najafi on social media after he married Mitra Najafi.
Later media reports indicate that Mr. Najafi in his confession has alluded to "constant threats" by his wife to disclose his secrets and "ruin" his life.
It is not clear what secrets he might have alluded to, since he is known as a long-time bureaucrat with a clean record.
Najafi studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a respected economic planner.
