22/5/2022–|Last update: 5/22/202210:38 PM (Mecca)
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced the killing of a colonel in front of his house in the capital, Tehran, coinciding with announcing the dismantling of a cell linked to Israel and the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad).
The Revolutionary Guards said that the officer – called Sayyad Khadayi, who previously participated in the war in Syria – was shot at by two gunmen who were on a motorbike, describing the operation as terrorist and what he called parties affiliated with the global arrogance were standing behind it, as he put it.
Iranian media reported that the gunmen were riding a motorbike and fired 5 bullets at the targeted person as he entered his house, which led to his death instantly, while the security forces began a wide campaign to search for the attackers.
And the semi-official Iranian Tasnim news agency reported – quoting a source it described as an insider – that the victim was “one of the defenders of the shrines”, a phrase used by the Iranian media to refer to members of the Revolutionary Guards who performed tasks during the conflict in Syria and Iraq, where Tehran confirms the presence of elements of Its armed forces act as advisors.
For its part, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the assassination of Colonel Khodaye will not prevent Tehran from achieving its goals.
She added that the operation is a terrorist act and bears the responsibility of elements linked to global arrogance, according to its description.
In the same context, an Iranian official told Al Jazeera that the assassination of Khodayei constituted a reckless transgression of red lines, stressing that this would lead to fundamental changes in the conflict equation.
The Iranian official indicated that the party behind the assassination of the colonel in the Revolutionary Guards will pay a heavy price.
This incident is the most prominent attack targeting an Iranian figure on the territory of the Islamic Republic since November 2020, when nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by shooting at his convoy near the capital, in an operation that Tehran accused Israel of carrying out.
cell disassembly
In conjunction with this news, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said that they had dismantled a cell linked to Israel and the Mossad and arrested its members.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that what it called “an intelligence service in the Zionist entity” directed this cell to carry out kidnappings and sabotage.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman, Brigadier General Ramadan Sharif, said yesterday, Saturday, that Iran will respond in a firm and destructive manner if it is proven that Israel committed any evil act against it anywhere, as he put it.
Sharif added – in his speech – that Israel has officially announced that it will attack Iranian interests, and that it continues to expose our vital headquarters and assassinate our personalities.
He stressed that Iran will not accept the presence of any Israeli headquarters near its territory, and will work to preserve its security and national interests.