Court releases ex-Iranian PM's killer

PARIS - A French court on Tuesday ordered the release of an Iranian who was serving a life sentence for the 1991 murder of Iran's last prime minister under the Shah, the convicted man's lawyer said.

The decision comes two days after Iran freed a French teaching assistant accused of spying. Paris and Teheran have denied any connection.

Ali Vakili Rad was convicted in 1994 of killing Shapour Bakhtiar, who fled to France following Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.