Police said they were not ruling out any theories for the attack on Thursday afternoon, including a possible link to Vidal-Quadras's ties with the Iranian opposition.
A police source close to the investigation told the Associated Press there was no evidence backing the Iranian link, but confirmed Vidal-Quadras himself had raised the suspicion from his hospital bed and that investigators were looking into it as one of several possible motives.
In a sign that police were broadening the investigation to consider the Iranian angle, another official said a provincial brigade that handled terrorism and extremism cases had joined the investigation, previously led by homicide agents.
Both officials spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to protect the secrecy of the inquiries.
Vidal-Quadras, 78, was attacked at about 1.30pm on Thursday near his home in the capital and was conscious when taken to hospital by emergency crews.
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