Israel warns against Turkey travel as IRGC head vows revenge

Israel’s National Security Council issued a heightened travel warning for Israelis against traveling to Turkey on Monday due to fears of revenge against Israel for allegedly killing IRGC Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari last week.

Since the assassination, “there is an increased concern in the defense establishment that there will be Iranian attempts to harm Israelis around the world,” the agency said.
“There is an increased concern in the defense establishment that there will be Iranian attempts to harm Israelis around the world.”

Israels National Security Council

The warning statement also extended the heightened level of travel awareness to any countries bordering Iran: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey.

IRGC Chief Commander Brig.-Gen. Hossein Salami promised to avenge the assassination in a visit to Khodayari’s family on Monday, Iranian state media reported.

Iranians assassinated by Israel have a higher status because they have been killed by the worst people on earth, Salami reportedly said.

Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami smiles during a joint exercise called the ‘Great Prophet 17’ in the southwest of Iran (credit: SAEED SAJJADI/FARS NEWS/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY)VIA REUTERS)

He added that Khodayari’s death earned him global fame. “The foes chased him door to door from the heart of the White House and Tel Aviv for years until they martyred him in a corner in Tehran,” Salami said.

Who is Hassan Sayad Khodayari?

Khodayari was involved in the past in planning attacks on Jews and Israelis worldwide.

The IRGC at the time called the assassination a “criminal terrorist act of the counter-revolution and elements related to global arrogance,” a term often used to refer to the US and Israel.

Iranian military journalist Hossein Dalirian pointed a finger at the Mossad in a tweet, saying that it seemed its agents were involved in the assassination.

Did Israel do it?

A New York Times report published four days after the assassination claimed that Israel informed the US  that it was indeed responsible for the assassination. The Israeli defense establishment expressed surprise at the report.