After a colonel in the strong Islamic Revolution Guard Corps was shot dead in Tehran on Sunday, Iran’s president has pledged vengeance.
According to reports, two shooters on a motorcycle opened fire on Sayad Khodai as he sat in a car outside his residence.
They claimed Col Khodai was a member of the IRGC’s shadowy overseas operations wing, the Quds Force.
President Ebrahim Raisi accused “global arrogance’s hands,” referring to the United States and its allies.
“I call on security personnel to examine the crime thoroughly, and I have no doubt that vengeance on criminals for this noble martyr’s pure blood is unavoidable,” he said.
The execution of Col Khodai, according to IRGC spokesman Ramazan Sharif, will boost the group’s resolve to “protect the security, independence, and national interests, as well as battle the enemies of the Iranian nation.”
No one has claimed responsibility for the assassination, which was Iran’s most high-profile since top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in an attack on his vehicle outside Tehran in November 2020.
Iran blamed Israel for the assassination.
Although the former chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service indicated last year that Fakhrizadeh had been a target “for many years,” Israel has neither admitted nor denied involvement.
Col Khodai was hit with five bullets as he got out of his car in eastern Tehran at around 16:00 (11:30 GMT) on Sunday
Photos of a man slumped in the driver’s seat of a Saipa Pride were published.
The passenger-side front window appeared to have blown out.
Irna gave no specifics regarding Khodai’s function in the Quds Force, though he was referred to as a “defender of the shrine,” a word used to characterize Iranian military troops and Iran-backed militia fighters in Syria and Iraq.
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In Syria’s civil conflict, the Quds Force is in charge of the Shia Muslim militias that have fought alongside President Bashar al-soldiers. Assad’s
It is also thought to be in charge of various Shia militias in Iraq, which have grown in strength since assisting in the defeat of the Islamic State.
The US accuses the Quds Force of arming, supporting, and training terrorist groups throughout the Middle East, as well as organizing several assaults elsewhere.
Both the IRGC and the Quds Force have been recognized as terrorist organizations.
In January 2020, the US assassinated the top commander of the Quds Force, Gen Qasem Soleimani, in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital.
Col Khodai was allegedly involved in preparing assaults on Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, according to Israeli media on Monday.
He was “likely” behind an alleged Iranian plot to kill businesspeople in Cyprus, including billionaire Teddy Sagi, as well as attempts to attack other Israeli businesses in Africa, South America, and Turkey, according to Haaretz.
It also cited a recent purported attempt in Turkey to assassinate an Israeli embassy employee, which Israeli officials claimed was prevented by the Mossad.
Meanwhile, Ram Ben Barak, the chairman of the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee and a former deputy Mossad commander, claimed he was “acquainted” with Khodai’s name.
