Gunmen Assasinate Colonel In Iran Revolutionary Guard

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that a colonel in the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards has been shot dead in a rare assassination in Tehran.

Two gunman on a motorbike are reported to have shot Colonel Sayad Khodai five times in a car outside his home.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, and a manhunt is under way for the gunmen.

It is the biggest security breach in Iran since 2020 when a leading nuclear scientist was killed, the BBC’s Middle East Editor Sebastian Usher says.

Images from the scene show a bloodied man slumped over in a car with his seatbelt still on.

Colonel Khodai was a senior member of the elite Quds Force, a shadowy external arm of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) that carries out operations abroad. The United States accuses the force of supporting terrorist organisations and being responsible for attacks across the Middle East.

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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the colonel was assassinated by “sworn enemies” of Iran who are “the terrorist agents affiliated with the global arrogance” – a reference to the US and its allies – and said other countries that “claim to be fighting terrorism are regrettably silent and support it”.

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