does anyone know enough about internal military politics in iran to say what this guy's standing was with the new government? Just because the crash is suspicious doesn't mean it was an external party involved. Even american cabinet-level officials have plane crashes when they are about to cause some trouble (ron brown).
That's what I was thinking.
The Ruskies were especially good at 'martyring' those who strayed from the party line.
IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS MAKING A BID FOR INCREASED POWER
Kamal Nazer Yasin 5/19/04 .....
Others believe the Revolutionary Guard commanders may be overplaying their hand, and thus could soon be subject to action designed to curb their political ambitions.
I came across this yesterday, you might be interested:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1554011/posts