Two terrorists on a motorbike shot and martyred the IRGC member Sayyad Khodaei, a military advisor in Syria, in the Iranian capital of Tehran in front of his house while in his car on Sunday afternoon, May 22, 2022.
Martyring the defender of the holy shrine once again proved that the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is at the forefront of the fight against terrorism has always been the victim of state terrorism in the world.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi wrote a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling on the international body to condemn the recent assassination of the IRGC member in Tehran.
Takht Ravanchi described Martyr Hassan Sayyad Khodaei as a member of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran who played an influential role in the fight against terrorism and ISIL.
The Iranian ambassador further said that preliminary estimates and evidence clearly indicate that the terrorist act was carried out in continuation of systemic assassinations against innocent Iranian citizens and scientists as a means to advance illegitimate goals of the foreign policy of some foreign regimes.
He further described the assassination as in violation of the UN Charter and the principles of international law and human rights, and also a serious threat to regional and international peace and stability, with will bear consequences for the backers of terrorism.
Takht Ravanchi underlined that such criminal acts will not undermine Iran's resolve to continue its fight against terrorism in the region.
He also said that an investigation into the terrorist act is underway to find the perpetrators, and called for the condemnation of the terrorist act by the United Nations as part of the UN duties in its real and non-discriminatory fight against terrorism.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli prime minister declined to comment on the killing. But according to an intelligence official briefed on the communications, Israel has informed American officials that it was behind the killing, according to the New York Times.
“The Israelis told the Americans the killing was meant as a warning to Iran to halt the operations of a covert group within the Quds Force known as Unit 840, according to the intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information.”
Unit 840 is tasked with abductions and assassinations of foreigners around the world, including Israeli civilians and officials, according to the Israeli government, military and intelligence officials, the source added.
The United States has designated the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group — a decision that has been a sticking point in the negotiations with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has demanded that the designation be removed as a condition for restoring the deal, but the United States has refused, leaving the negotiations frozen, it added.
Israel is staunchly opposed to the nuclear deal and some Iranian analysts close to the government said the attack was aimed at derailing the nuclear talks at a delicate point and undermining any possibility that Iran and the United States might reach a consensus over the issue of the Guards, it noted.
“Israeli officials said Colonel Khodaei was the deputy commander of Unit 840 and was involved in planning cross-border plots against foreigners, including Israelis.”
“Israel has a history of assassinating nuclear scientists inside Iran with drive-by shootings by gunmen on motorcycles. But while previous attacks inside Iran were mainly focused on nuclear targets and military infrastructure, this assassination appeared to be a rare instance of Israel targeting Guards members inside Iran in retaliation for plots against its citizens.”
In 2020, Israel assassinated the country’s top nuclear scientist and deputy defense minister, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, using a remote-controlled A.I. assisted robot, the media underlined.
The plan to target Colonel Khodaei may date back at least to July 2021. That was when operatives working for Israel’s intelligence agency abducted a farmer named Mansour Rasouli from Uromieh, Iran, according to Israeli intelligence and military officials, it further noted.
The officials said that the Revolutionary Guards had recruited Mr. Rasouli, who was part of a local drug-dealing gang, as a hit man for targets outside of Iran, it said.
The officials said the agents who abducted him were seeking information about the command chain of Unit 840, which Israel says that Colonel Khodaei was a leader of. The agents released Mr. Rasouli after the interrogation, they said.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has reported the military officials of the Israeli regime were angry at the New York Time newspaper for revealing the fact that the regime was behind the recent assassination of IRGC member Colonel Martyr Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in Tehran.
The American newspaper had cited sources that the Tel Aviv regime had informed Washington on the plot to carry out the assassination in Tehran.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the Israeli military apparatuses have demanded explanations from their American counterparts for revealing the regime's responsibility in the assassination while acquitting the United States.
The New York Times quoted an informed source as saying on Thursday morning that the Zionist regime of Israel had informed the United States that the assassination of the martyr Sayyad Khodaei was done by them.
Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi expressed condolences to the bereaved family of Martyr Sayyad Khodaei and his companions at IRGC.
He also urged Iranian security officials to seriously pursue this crime, saying that taking revenge for the blood of this honorable martyr is inevitable.
Undoubtedly, this crime was committed by arrogant power those whose plots were plotted by Holy Shrine Defenders, he added.
The Speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf sent separate messages to the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Secretaries-General of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (PUIC) and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).
In his letters, the Iranian parliament speaker strongly condemned the act of terrorism carried out by elements of Global Arrogance in martyring Sayyad Khodaei.
Ghalibaf referred to the UN Charter, the principles of international law and human rights, and described the recent terrorist act as in continuation of systematic and targeted assassinations against Iranian citizens, scientists and the armed forces.
He said that the international community must be seriously concerned about the dangerous consequences of such terrorist acts for international peace and security, and condemn such brutal assassinations by certain regimes.
He called on those international bodies to condemn the recent cowardly assassination in Tehran as part of their duty to fight terrorism non-discriminatory.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani paid a visit to the family of martyred Sayyad Khodaei.
Assassination not only does not undermine the progress of the Islamic Revolution, but the pure blood of the martyrs accelerates Islamic Revolution's path toward progress, said Ali Bagheri Kani in the meeting with the family of Martyr Khodaei.
Referring to the double standards of some Western governments towards the phenomenon of terrorism, he stated "As much as terrorism is condemned, silence against terrorism is also condemned."
The silence of some governments in the face of terrorist acts would mean they are awarding the terrorists, and terrorism will not be eradicated as long as terrorists hope to receive a reward, the Iranian diplomat said.
These assassinations have no effect on Iran's policy in the fight against terrorism in the region, and there is no doubt that Iran's policy of preserving stability, security, and fighting terrorism will continue with more power than before, he added.
Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed condolences to the bereaved family of Martyr Sayyad Khodaei and his companions at IRGC.
This inhuman crime is being committed by terrorist elements affiliated with the Global Arrogance which unfortunately is accompanied by the support and silence of countries claiming to fight terrorism, he added.
IRGC's public relations department announced the arrest of a network of thugs linked with the Zionist regime of Israel's intelligence service.
In a written message to the bereaved family of Martyr Khodaei, Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the Foreign Ministry will follow up on the case using its international, legal as well as political capacities.
Referring to Iran’s pivotal role in fighting against terrorism, he highlighted that the assassination of Martyr Khodaei proved once again that Iran is itself a victim of terrorism.
Earlier, US terrorists assassinated General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha’abi, and their companions by targeting their vehicles outside Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.
The act of terror was carried out under the direction of US President Donald Trump, with the Pentagon taking responsibility for the strike.
General Soleimani is viewed by the world's freedom-seeking people as the key figure in defeating ISIL, the world’s most notorious terrorist group, in the Middle East battles.
And also, Israeli forces have shot dead Al Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, according to witnesses and the Palestinian health ministry.
Abu Akleh, a longtime TV correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, was killed while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
An amazing point in these terroristic attempts is the silence of countries claiming peace and security in the world.
While European countries are protesting to prevent a spy in Iran from being punished these days and are seeking to interfere in Iran's internal affairs by launching “hashtag” media operations, they remained silent in such blatant terrorist operations.
The final point towards the assassination of Martyr Sayyad Khodaei and General Soleimani was the discourse of resistance and sacrifice that Martyr Khodaei, Mrtyre General Soleimani, and his colleagues followed in the world.
Compiled and translated by Amin Mohammadzadegan Khoyi