TEHRAN -
The assassination of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer, Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodayi, in front of his house in the center of the capital, Tehran, on Sunday, reminded us of similar operations that resulted in the killing of nuclear scientists and other engineers who had a prominent imprint in developing their country's missile program, and Tehran pointed the finger at all of these assassinations. to Israel.
The last assassination was completely different from the method used to assassinate former scientists, which is usually carried out by planting explosives in their cars, or by shooting from passing cars.
Khadaei fisherman - who had previously participated in the war in Syria - was shot by two gunmen who were riding a motorcycle, and they fired 5 bullets at him and fled, which led to his death instantly.
With the repeated assassinations on Iranian soil, and Tehran pointing the finger at its archenemy, Israel, Al Jazeera Net asked former leaders and figures close to the Revolutionary Guards, in search of an explanation for Iran's failure to respond in kind to the assassination of its leaders, and contented itself with naval or cyber attacks on Israeli sites and networks.
Colonel in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Sayyad Khodaye, whom Iran accused Israel of being behind his assassination (social networking sites)
Iran has always accused Israel of being behind the assassination of its leaders. Why is there no similar Iranian response to these operations?
An unofficial Iranian source close to the Quds Force revealed that the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian security forces had responded more than once by targeting a number of Israeli leaders inside and outside the occupied Palestinian territories.
However, the informed source - who stipulated anonymity for security reasons - said that despite Tehran's unwillingness to open security files with independent countries, it had previously struck Israeli interests on its lands, but yesterday's operation was a qualitative leap in removing the conflict from the shadows into the open. This will make the Iranian response clear after today.
What are the operations that targeted Israelis that Iran did not officially adopt?
The source close to the Quds Force enumerated the direct Iranian operations against Israeli leaders, and said that they had killed more than 20 people so far, including, according to his statement:
The assassination of the officer in the Israeli Mossad, Fahim Hinawi, 45, on December 4, 2020, at an intersection in the Ginaton area, southeast of Tel Aviv.
The operation took place only 7 days after the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh by firing more than 15 bullets at his car.
During the past year, Iran liquidated two other officers - other than Hinawi - inside Tel Aviv in response to the assassination of Fakhrizadeh.
The assassination of the commander of the Nahal Brigade in the Israeli army, General Sharon Asman, 42, on January 1, 2021, in a military base in Netanya, central occupied Palestine.
Gabriel Talker, a senior officer in the Israeli Mossad - at the level of a deputy minister - was killed along with 12 other people on March 13, as a result of Iranian missile strikes on a Mossad headquarters in Erbil, Iraq.
And "we have documented reports of the injury and death of a number of Israeli elements in this attack, including: Mattis Datrice, Asmet, Adam Butler, Shaul, Melis Rapert, whose alias is Avens, Johnny, Jones, Gabriel Talker, and Mark Zall."
Iran is not afraid to announce that it is behind many operations targeting the security situation inside the "Zionist entity".
There are other operations targeting Israeli elements in independent countries, which Iran has not and will not adopt, but the "entity" leaders know very well that it is behind them.
Why does Iran not officially adopt its operations against the Israeli elements?
The former leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hussein Kanaani Moghadam, believes that Iran is adopting all operations targeting the Zionist entity, and it is the only country that clearly declares that it is working to eliminate the occupation entity, adding that Tehran is in a state of open war with Israel and does not want to narrow the circle of conflict. to operations here and there.
He indicated - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that "the Israeli entity" adopts the strategy of "killing with a thousand wounds" to confront Iran;
And that the assassinations inside Iran and the attacks on the targets of the resistance axis in Syria and Lebanon fall within this framework, stressing that Tehran adopts a strategy of preparing for the battle to liberate Jerusalem.
Kanaani Moghadam stressed that "the enemy's operations deep inside Iran - whether assassinations or sabotage operations against nuclear facilities - come to lure Tehran into a comprehensive war by confronting the United States and its allies on the side of the Israeli enemy."
This is what Tehran is aware of its danger, but it will continue its operations to deter the occupation without adopting them, unless the operations are on the territory of a third country, as happened in the Erbil attack.
Kanaani Moghadam says that Iran responded directly and indirectly to targeting its leaders (Al-Jazeera)
How does Tehran respond to the Israeli operations targeting its leaders and interests on Iranian soil?
The former commander of the Revolutionary Guard believes that his country has never turned a blind eye to the Israeli operations, and that it responded directly or indirectly through the allied resistance movements, whether through the Syrian Golan front, southern Lebanon, or from within the Palestinian territories.
Kanaani Moghadam added that one of the aspects of Iranian retaliation in response to the Israeli operations "is to provide allied anti-Zionist movements with weapons and military technology, especially drones and precision-guided missiles, which have become irritating the occupation entity and warn of its imminent demise."
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi vowed revenge after the killing of officer Khadayi (Al Jazeera)
How did the assassination of officer Hassan Sayyad Khodaye affect Iran, and how will the Revolutionary Guards avenge him?
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard was the first to announce the targeting of its element in an operation described as terrorist and behind which were "parties affiliated with the global arrogance", according to Moghadam, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry stressed that the assassination of Colonel Khadayi would not prevent Iran from achieving its goals.
After Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi described - before his departure on Monday morning Tehran for Muscat - that "revenge for the blood of Khodaye's will certainly be within reach", the Iranian Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs Majid Mirahmadi accused Israel of committing this crime, and threatened Tel Aviv to receive a severe slap from the Iran will make the criminals regret their actions, as he put it.
For his part, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards and advisor to the Iranian parliament's presidency, Mansour Haqiqatpour, revealed that his country had prepared a bank of targets from US and Israeli interests to respond to any "adventure", suggesting that his country not bury its dead before taking revenge on the killers.
Haqiqat Bor expected - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that the response to the assassination of the Revolutionary Guards officer would be soon and the size of the crime, stressing that the arrow of revenge had already left the bow.