Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was assassinated in Tehran at 4pm today, PressTV reported. He was shot five times, of which three hit him in the head, by two motorcyclists as he was about to leave his car near Mojahedin-e-Islam Street. IRNA news agency described Sayyad Khodai as a "defender of the sanctuary" - a term reserved for IRGC members operating in Syria and Iraq, namely those who fought Daesh*.
The news agency said that the attackers fled the scene and were chased by the "intelligence and security forces". There have been no reports of their arrest or neutralisation, but IRNA said an investigation was opened into the incident.
Iranian media has not released any further details about the assassination. No group has taken responsibility for the killing of the IRGC member so far. The IRGC called the assassination a terrorist attack committed by "counter-revolutionary elements".
The IRGC is an independent branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, which has its own units and intelligence operating both at home and abroad. The force even orders its own military R&D projects to arm itself.
In November 2020, one of Iran's prominent scientists, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi was also assassinated in broad daylight in Absard, a city near Tehran. Israel claimed that the scientist was behind Iran's nuclear programme and several Israeli officials made veiled hints that Tel Aviv was behind the daring assassination.