Close Menu
    Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • English
    • Français (French)
    Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
    Middle East Transparent
    • Home
    • Categories
      1. Headlines
      2. Features
      3. Commentary
      4. Magazine
      Featured
      Headlines POLITICO

      Leo is America’s first pope. His worldview appears at odds with ‘America First.’

      Recent
      11 May 2025

      Leo is America’s first pope. His worldview appears at odds with ‘America First.’

      5 May 2025

      Most U.S. Catholics Say They Want the Church To Be ‘More Inclusive’

      4 May 2025

      As Church awaits a Conclave, President Trump puts up picture of himself as next Pope

    • Contact us
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • English
    • Français (French)
    Middle East Transparent
    You are at:Home»Categories»Headlines»Iran senior military official’s killing was preemptive intervention

    Iran senior military official’s killing was preemptive intervention

    0
    By Ron Ben-Yishai on 23 May 2022 Headlines

    Opinion: The successful assassination, attributed to Mossad, of Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodayar reveals yet again how fragile the Iranian regime is; but ayatollahs haven’t had the last word on this affair just yet

    by Ron Ben-Yishai
    Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodayar, who was shot dead outside his home in Tehran on Sunday, was one of the senior commanders of Unit 840 of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
    He may have also been the commander of a secret Iranian unit charge with planning and carrying out assassinations and attacks internationally, either in retaliation or as means to preemptively remove threats on Tehran and its regime.

    In recent years, Unit 840 operated under Khodayar’s directives mainly to attempt and harm Israelis and Israeli institutions across the world in order to avenge killings of Iranian nuclear scientists and other officials – all attributed to Israel’s secret service agency Mossad.

    The most recent assassination was that of Prof. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh back in November 2020. Fakhrizadeh was an Iranian nuclear physicist and scientist and was regarded as the godfather of Iran’s nuclear program.
    Fakhrizadeh was eliminated before completing the nuclear project, and the frustrated Revolutionary Guard commanders swore to avenge his death. However, so far, despite repeated attempts, they have not succeeded.

    The person who was in charge of avenging his death was was Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodayar. Over the past two years he had tried again and again, but failed every time due to Mossad’s effective intelligence gathering capabilities, and the cooperation of foreign security services.

    Khodayar’s preferred method to extract revenge was clandestine assassinations that couldn’t be traced back to the Iranian regime. But, the Iranian intelligence and Revolutionary Guard Corps have often made things difficult for Tehran on the international arena by carrying out sloppily executed attacks in Europe, South America, and Asia.

    Many of these assassination efforts failed and damaged not only Iran’s image – at home and abroad – but also the country’s international economic ties, causing significant losses along the way.
    That’s probably why Khodayar recently developed a new method of operations. In recent years, the assassins have almost always been hired foreigners, usually recruited by Unit 840 operatives to carry out the deadly missions.

    The Iranians also wanted to exact revenge on Israel for killing of Iranian officers in Syria, where Tehran wants to establish a frontier in cooperation with pro-Iranian Shi’ite militias.

    Among operations Khodayar and his men were responsible for in the past three years were the murders of Israelis in Tanzania, Ghana, and Senegal, as well as an attack on an Israeli institution in Colombia’s capital of Bogota.

    In addition, there were also attempts to kill businessmen and high-tech personnel in Cyprus, a murder attempt in Georgia, and an attack on the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan.

    There was also an attempt to murder the Israeli consul in Istanbul, Turkey, by an agent who, according to foreign sources, was recently captured by Mossad operatives in Iran. He had been interrogated by them and allegedly said that besides the consul, he was supposed to also murder an American general and a French religious man – among other targets.

    Therefore, it is no wonder that after years of Khodayar acting as a senior officer in Unit 840, officials in the region have come to the conclusion that it is no longer possible to not preemptively defuse this ticking bomb. The concern was that one day he might be able to outsmart the Israeli intelligence and successfully execute one of his plans.

    It is likely that in order to minimize the probability of this happening, it was decided to eliminate him before he could cause harm to anyone.

    Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday expressed his condolences to Khodayar’s family – and pointed a blaming finger at the “global arrogance” – which is a term used to describe the United States and its allies, including Israel. According to Raisi, “those who were defeated in battle by the forces defending the holy places of the Shi’ite Muslims in Syria, express their frustration with such assassinations”.

    The president emphasized that Iranian security officials will “surely avenge the criminals who are behind the death of the martyr”. Thus, it should be assumed that Unit 840 and other elements of the IRGC will do everything in their power to fulfill that threat. But in the meantime, they’re trying to deal with the shame and humiliation they’ve suffered as a result of the assassination.

    It is very likely that Iran’s semi-official report on Sunday that members of an Israeli intelligence service network had been exposed and arrested by the IRGC, was a desperate attempt to cover up that embarrassment.

    It was not the first successful assassination conducted by foreign forces on Iranian soil, making it seem the regime is struggling to thwart them, which in turn may also embolden the opposition elements at home.

    YNET

    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email WhatsApp Copy Link
    Previous Articleشخصيات سيادية لم تدخل البرلمان… تَستَكمِل أهدافها
    Next Article (مع تحديث) صدّام أعطاه جواز السفر!: مظفّر لم يفرّ من السجن في العراق
    Subscribe
    Notify of
    guest

    guest

    0 Comments
    Newest
    Oldest Most Voted
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    RSS Recent post in french
    • Al-Charaa en visite à Paris : « Les Européens se laissent berner parce qu’ils prennent leurs rêves pour des réalités » 8 May 2025 Hughes Maillot
    • Au Yémen, la surprenante résilience des rebelles houthistes 6 May 2025 Georges Malbrunot
    • Walid Joumblatt, chef politique des Druzes du Liban : « Le pire des scénarios serait que les Druzes syriens soient poussés dans une enclave » 5 May 2025 Laure Stephan
    • Robert Ageneau, théologien : « Il est urgent de réformer, voire d’abolir, la papauté » 4 May 2025 Le Monde
    • Trump veut un pape à son image 3 May 2025 François Clemenceau
    RSS Recent post in arabic
    • الأسرار “الأولى” لانتخاب البابا ليو الرابع عشر 12 May 2025 بيار عقل
    • موضوع الزَكاة والخُمس 12 May 2025 أحمد الصرّاف
    • زيارة ترامب.. جائزة “العبور” إلى طهران 12 May 2025 عمر حرقوص
    • وضاح شرارة… الحروب الأهلية العربية نظاما سياسيا 11 May 2025 محمد أبي سمرا
    • ميّ..! 11 May 2025 أحمد الصرّاف
    26 February 2011

    Metransparent Preliminary Black List of Qaddafi’s Financial Aides Outside Libya

    6 December 2008

    Interview with Prof Hafiz Mohammad Saeed

    7 July 2009

    The messy state of the Hindu temples in Pakistan

    27 July 2009

    Sayed Mahmoud El Qemany Apeal to the World Conscience

    8 March 2022

    Russian Orthodox priests call for immediate end to war in Ukraine

    Recent Comments
    • Edward Ziadeh on As Church awaits a Conclave, President Trump puts up picture of himself as next Pope
    • Victoria Perea on As Church awaits a Conclave, President Trump puts up picture of himself as next Pope
    • Victoria Perea on As Church awaits a Conclave, President Trump puts up picture of himself as next Pope
    • M sam on Kuwait: The Gulf state purging tens of thousands of its citizens
    • Aadam Peer on How important is the Dome of the Rock in Islam?
    Donate
    Donate
    © 2025 Middle East Transparent

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    wpDiscuz
    loader

    Inscrivez-vous à la newsletter

    En vous inscrivant, vous acceptez nos conditions et notre politique de confidentialité.

    loader

    Subscribe to updates

    By signing up, you agree to our terms privacy policy agreement.

    loader

    اشترك في التحديثات

    بالتسجيل، فإنك توافق على شروطنا واتفاقية سياسة الخصوصية الخاصة بنا.