The assassination happened at nearly 4 pm on Mojahedin Eslam Street in downtown Tehran. The gunmen riding two motorbikes opened fire on him while he was entering his house.
Reports say the victim is Brigadier General Hassan Khodaie and that the attackers emptied three bullets into his head.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps confirmed the assassination of General Khodaei, describing it as a “criminal act of terror” by “counter-revolutionary elements and lackeys of global arrogance”.
Security forces have started a manhunt for the assailants.
مجاهد مدافع حرم، شهید #حسن_صیاد_خدایی پس از سال ها مجاهدت امروز در مقابل منزلش ترور شد و به شهادت رسید
وی در حالی ترور شد که در داخل با ماشین خود (پراید سفید) در مقابل منزل مسکونیاش قرار داشت
همسر وی اولین فردی بود که با پیکر این شهید مدافع حرم روبرو شد pic.twitter.com/bkW7tN1Fnr
— خبرگزاری تسنیم 🇮🇷 (@Tasnimnews_Fa) May 22, 2022
The Iranian combatants who fought against terrorists in Syria are known in Iran as “defenders of the shrine”.
The majority of Iranians view the defenders of the shrine positively, arguing that had they not fought the Takfiris in Syria, Iran would have had to fight the terrorists on its own soil.