Colonel of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps assassinated in Tehran

NEW DELHI

The Revolutionary Guards reported an Iranian colonel was shot dead outside his residence in Tehran on Sunday, blaming his "assassination" on attackers tied to the US and its allies. Colonel Sayyad Khodai's killing is Iran's most high-profile assassination since senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was murdered in 2020.

According to official media, the two assailants shot the victim five times as he entered his residence in an alleyway in the capital's eastern district.

Colonel Sayyad Khodai, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA, was shot and killed by two motorcyclists in Tehran's Mohahedin-e Eslam Street.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said that "elements linked to global arrogance" — a reference to the US and its allies, including Israel — were responsible for the "terrorist act" that claimed Khodai’s life.

According to reports, the target was a "defender of the shrine," a reference to Iranians in the Guard's elite Quds force, which handles operations abroad, who battle against the hardline Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the incident.

According to official television, security forces were following the accused assailants, but no further details or motivation for the killing were provided.

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