Iran Claims It Arrested Several Linked To Assassination Of IRGC Colonel

Iran claims that several people have been arrested in connection with the assassination of a member of its Revolutionary Guard Quds Force.

Judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi said on Tuesday that the case for the killing of Colonel Hassan Sayyad-Khodaei --, responsible for operations outside Iran’s borders – is still in its initial investigations phase, expressing hope that the main culprits will be identified and arrested in the near future.

Such terrorist acts are the work of complex networks and need thorough technical investigations, he said, but noted that several people have been detained and charged in this regard.

Sayyad-Khodaei was the acting commander of a covert group within the Quds Force known as Unit 840, tasked with abductions and assassinations around the world, including Israeli civilians and officials.

Khodaei was killed outside his home on a residential street in Tehran on May 22, when two gunmen on a motorcycle approached his car and fired five bullets at him and fled the scene. Iran blamed Israel and vowed revenge for the killing.

According to an article by The New York Times, Khodaei was in charge of the unit’s operations in the Middle East and countries neighboring Iran. Over the past two years, he had also been involved in attempted terrorist attacks against Israelis, Europeans and American civilians and government officials in Columbia, Kenya, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Cyprus. The article quoted an Israeli intelligence official as saying that Tel Aviv has informed American officials it was responsible for the killing.