The top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officer assassinated in Tehran on Sunday was actively involved in planning attacks against Israelis overseas, the London-based Iran International TV station reported Monday.
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Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a top IRGC official, was gunned down while he was parked in front of his home in Tehran. Iran was quick to point the finger at Israel and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed the country would "seek revenge against the criminals" who carried out the hit.
The Revolutionary Guards' denounced the assassination as a "criminal terrorist act" and later on Sunday announced they had nabbed a "network of thugs linked with the Zionist regime of Israel's intelligence service."
Citing an unnamed European security official, the Iran International said that Khodaei was involved in several terrorist plots against Israelis in Asia, Europe, and Africa, including the Feb. 13, 2012 attack targeting an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, India, in which a diplomat's wife was wounded.
He was also reportedly involved in a series of botched bombings aimed at killing Israeli envoys in Tbilisi, Georgia, and several Central Asian countries, and had masterminded the 2012 Bangkok bombings, which left five people wounded.
Thai authorities confirmed at the time that Iran is behind the attacks.
The Iran International, a Saudi-sponsored Persian language outlet based in the UK, further cited the source as saying that Khodaei knew he could be a target and tried to downplay his service at the IRGC, even avoiding wearing the elite force's uniform.
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