01 October 2007 :

Mohammad-Javad Larijani, the mullahs’ Judiciary Chief Advisor and an ideologue within the clerical regime said, "Stoning is neither torture nor is it an improper punishment," the state-run news agency ISNA reported.
Admitting that there is no mention of stoning in "holy Quran" or in the teachings of the "prophet Mohammad's," Larijani said, "As long as it is [written] in our laws it would be proper to hand down such a penalty by the judges…It is obvious that stoning is a lesser sentence in comparison to hanging since the [victim] stands a chance of staying alive after stoning."