Israel informs US it was behind killing of Iranian colonel: NYT report

Colonel Sayyad Khodai was shot dead on Sunday by a gunman on the back of a motorcycle as he sat in a car outside his home in Tehran.

Thousands attended Khodai's funeral in central Tehran on Tuesday.
AFP

Thousands attended Khodai's funeral in central Tehran on Tuesday.

Israel has told the United States it was responsible for the killing of an Iranian Revolutionary Guards colonel last week, The New York Times has reported.

Colonel Sayyad Khodai was shot dead on Sunday by a gunman on the back of a motorcycle as he sat in a car outside his home in Tehran.

On Wednesday, the Times reported that "according to an intelligence official briefed on the communications, Israel has informed American officials that it was behind the killing".

The source, who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity, said Israel told US officials the killing was meant as a warning to Iran to halt the operations of a covert group within the Quds Force — the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has vowed to avenge the killing.

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'Elements of global arrogance'

The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's ideological army, has blamed the killing on "elements of global arrogance" — a reference to the United States and its allies, including Israel.

Iran's state broadcaster has described Khodai as a member of the Quds Force.

Thousands attended Khodai's funeral in central Tehran on Tuesday. Prayers were led by the capital's top imam, and Khodai's coffin was draped in the Iranian flag. Posters hailed him as a "martyr".

Khodai's killing came with negotiations between Iran and world powers to restore a frayed 2015 nuclear deal stalled since March.

One of the main sticking points is Tehran's demand to remove the Guards from a US terrorism list — a request rejected by Washington.

READ MORE: Iran open to compromise on 'nuclear file' - Qatar

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