Iran accuses Israeli agency Mossad of killing IRGC official who planned

Jerusalem: Colonel Hassan Sayyed Khodayari, a senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was shot dead in the capital, Tehran. Khodayari had planned to kidnap and kill Jews and Israelis around the world. Therefore, the Iranian media is accusing the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad of orchestrating the killing of Colonel Khodayari.

Colonel Khodayari, meanwhile, was known as the right-hand man of Qassam Soleimani, the former head of the Iranian Quds Force. The assailants fired five shots at Colonel Khodayari while parking his car in the yard of his residence on Sunday afternoon. The Iranian agencies said that assailants who came on a motorcycle carried out the attack. Iranian officials said that a search operation has been launched for the attackers. IRGC has blamed the attack on arrogant criminals and global terrorist groups.

Earlier, the Revolutionary Guards used such phrases to accuse the United States and Israel. Therefore, indirectly, the Revolutionary Guards are holding Israel responsible. Iran’s enemies have crossed the red line by assassinating Colonel Khodayari. Iranian media have warned that the assassination has changed the equations and the attackers will have to pay a heavy price.

The media, affiliated with the IRGC, has openly blamed Mossad for the attack. Khodayari was a senior member of the Quds Force in IRGC. Khodayari was known as the trusted right-hand man of Qassam Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in 2020. Therefore, the assassination of Khodayari is a jolt to the activities of the Quds Forces.

Over the past few days, there have been allegations of kidnappings and killings of Jews and Israelis living in Cyprus, Turkey and the West. The attackers have even been detained in Cyprus and Turkey. Israel has also announced action against the masterminds behind the plot. There is no denying the possibility that this conspiracy has something to do with Khodayari. In recent weeks, this is the second killing of an IRGC officer on Iranian streets. Earlier, scientists and officials involved in the Iranian nuclear program were assassinated. Six such leading nuclear scientists have been killed in Iran since 2010. In 2020, Mohsin Fakhrizadeh, the senior-most scientist, was assassinated. Iran has also accused that a one-ton remote control gun was used to assassinate Fakhrizadeh.

Iran has blamed Israel and the United States for all the attacks. Israel has so far refrained from reacting to the allegations. Iran, meanwhile, has claimed to have busted a huge racket of Mossad agents after the assassination of Colonel Khodayari. But there is confusion in the Iranian media about the news.