Iranian Colonel Gunned Down on The Streets of Tehran, Israel is Being Blamed

ALBAWABA - The social media is buzzing with the assassination of the Iranian colonel on the streets of Tehran, Sunday. 

Anadolu states Colonel Sayyad Khodayari is an officer in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He was shot dead by unknown assailants on two motorcycles and was attacked in his car outside his home in eastern Tehran, close to the Iranian parliament complex. 

The Turkish news agency added the incident took place at around 4 pm local time on Sunday, quoting the state media said and adding he was hit with at least five bullets in neck and arms.

Anadolu reports the assailants were being pursued by intelligence and security agencies at the time and while no group has so far claimed responsibility for the slaying, an IRGC statement said adding no group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack [and] the attack was carried out by "counter-revolutionary forces and elements related to global arrogance", in an indirect reference to Iran's arch-foe Israel.

on the score, the Jerusalem Post states that reports of the Khodayari assassination began to circulate in Iran and around the world, while security forces in Iran were frantically searching for the assassination squad.

The Israeli daily quoted  the ISNA news agency reporting that the IRGC had exposed and arrested a network of Israeli intelligence agents and "in accordance with the Zionist regime's intelligence service instructions, the network tried to steal and destroy public and personal equipment, hijack and obtain false confessions through a network of thugs," the IRGC said.

Anadolu added the slain officer was reportedly associated with IRGC's Quds Force and had spent years in Syria adding that Iran has blamed Israel for assassination of several top military officials and scientists in recent years, even though Tel Aviv has never officially claimed responsibility for them.