Iran will avenge the death of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayad Khodai, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday, a day after the elite corps officer was shot dead by two people on a motorcycle in a rare assassination in Tehran.
“I have agreed for our security forces to seriously follow up on this matter and I have no doubt that revenge for the pure blood of our martyr will be taken,” Raisi said.
The killing only reinforces the determination of the Guards to confront the enemies of Iran, Guards spokesperson Ramazan Sharif said, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
“The martyrdom of Colonel Khodai strengthens the determination of the Revolutionary Guards to defend security, independence and national interests and to confront the enemies of the Iranian nation,” he said. “The thugs and terrorist groups affiliated with global oppression and Zionism will face consequences for their actions.”
Khodai was “one of the defenders of the shrines”, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, referring to military personnel or advisers who Iran says fight on its behalf to protect Shi'ite sites in Iraq or Syria against groups such as Islamic State.
Two people on a motorcycle opened fire on Khodai, Tasnim reported, citing an informed source, while the semi-official ISNA news agency reported that members of an Israeli intelligence service network had been discovered and arrested by the Guards.
The killing comes at a time of uncertainty over the revival of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers after months of stalled talks.
Sanam Vakil, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, said Khodai's assassination was meant to unsettle Tehran as tensions escalate with its arch-enemy Israel over Iran's nuclear programme.
“Should Israel be responsible for the attack, it is a reminder of Israel's growing reach and destabilising capacity inside Iran,” said Vakil.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which oversees intelligence agency Mossad, declined to comment on the events in Tehran.
At least six Iranian scientists and academics have been killed or attacked since 2010, several of them by assailants riding motorcycles, in incidents believed to have targeted Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at producing a bomb.
Iran denies this, saying its nuclear programme has peaceful purposes, and has denounced the killings as acts of terrorism carried out by Western intelligence agencies and Mossad. Israel has declined comment on such accusations.
Reuters
Iran will avenge slain Revolutionary Guards colonel, president says
Image: IRGC/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran will avenge the death of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayad Khodai, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday, a day after the elite corps officer was shot dead by two people on a motorcycle in a rare assassination in Tehran.
“I have agreed for our security forces to seriously follow up on this matter and I have no doubt that revenge for the pure blood of our martyr will be taken,” Raisi said.
The killing only reinforces the determination of the Guards to confront the enemies of Iran, Guards spokesperson Ramazan Sharif said, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
“The martyrdom of Colonel Khodai strengthens the determination of the Revolutionary Guards to defend security, independence and national interests and to confront the enemies of the Iranian nation,” he said. “The thugs and terrorist groups affiliated with global oppression and Zionism will face consequences for their actions.”
Khodai was “one of the defenders of the shrines”, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, referring to military personnel or advisers who Iran says fight on its behalf to protect Shi'ite sites in Iraq or Syria against groups such as Islamic State.
Two people on a motorcycle opened fire on Khodai, Tasnim reported, citing an informed source, while the semi-official ISNA news agency reported that members of an Israeli intelligence service network had been discovered and arrested by the Guards.
The killing comes at a time of uncertainty over the revival of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers after months of stalled talks.
Sanam Vakil, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, said Khodai's assassination was meant to unsettle Tehran as tensions escalate with its arch-enemy Israel over Iran's nuclear programme.
“Should Israel be responsible for the attack, it is a reminder of Israel's growing reach and destabilising capacity inside Iran,” said Vakil.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which oversees intelligence agency Mossad, declined to comment on the events in Tehran.
At least six Iranian scientists and academics have been killed or attacked since 2010, several of them by assailants riding motorcycles, in incidents believed to have targeted Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at producing a bomb.
Iran denies this, saying its nuclear programme has peaceful purposes, and has denounced the killings as acts of terrorism carried out by Western intelligence agencies and Mossad. Israel has declined comment on such accusations.
Reuters
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