Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Iran vows revenge after Revolutionary Guards colonel is assassinated

Iran vows revenge after Revolutionary Guards colonel is assassinated

Iran's president has promised to take revenge after a colonel in the powerful Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) was shot dead in Tehran on Sunday.
Two gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at Sayad Khodai as he sat in a car outside his home, state media reported.

Col Khodai was a member of the elite Quds Force, the IRGC's shadowy overseas operations arm, they said.

President Ebrahim Raisi blamed "the hands of global arrogance" — a reference to the US and its allies.

"I call on security officials to seriously investigate the crime and I have no doubt that revenge on criminals for the pure blood of this honorable martyr is inevitable," he said.

IRGC spokesman Ramazan Sharif said the "martyrdom" of Col Khodai would strengthen its determination to "defend security, independence and national interests and to confront the enemies of the Iranian nation"

No group or country has claimed it was behind the killing, which was the most high-profile in Iran since the top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot dead in an attack on his convoy outside Tehran in November 2020.

Iran blamed that assassination on Israel. Israel neither confirmed nor denied involvement, although the former head of its Mossad intelligence agency said last year that Fakhrizadeh had been a target "for many years".

Iran's state news agency, Irna, reported that Col Khodai was shot with five bullets as he was getting out of his car in eastern Tehran at around 16:00 (11:30 GMT) on Sunday.

It published photos showing a man slumped in the driver's seat of a Kia Pride. The front passenger side window appeared to have been shot out.

Irna provided no details about Khodai's role within the Quds Force, although he was called a "defender of the shrine" - a term used to describe Iran military personnel and Iran-backed militia fighters operating in Syria or Iraq.

The Quds Force oversees the Shia Muslim militias that have fought alongside President Bashar al-Assad's troops in Syria's civil war.

It is also believed to direct several Shia militias in Iraq which have developed significant power since helping defeat the Islamic State group.

The US accuses the Quds Force of arming, financing and training terrorist groups across the Middle East, being responsible the deaths of hundreds of American troops in the region, and of plotting many attacks elsewhere. It has designated both the IRGC and the Quds Force as terrorist organizations.

In January 2020, the US assassinated the Quds Force's top commander, Gen Qasem Soleimani, in a drone strike in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

Israeli media reported on Monday that Col Khodai was involved in planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide, without giving their sources.

The Haaretz newspaper said it was "likely" that he was behind an alleged Iranian plot to kill businesspeople in Cyprus, including the billionaire Teddy Sagi, as well as attempts to harm other Israeli businesspeople in Africa, South America and Turkey.

It also mentioned a recent alleged plot to kill an Israeli consulate employee in Turkey, which Israeli officials said was foiled by the Mossad.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz declined to comment on the killing of Col Khodai when approached by Channel 12 TV during a visit to New York.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×