A member of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was killed Sunday afternoon after being shot five times by unknown gunmen riding a motorcycle in downtown Tehran. 

According to Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the IRGC, the slain officer was a colonel who had earlier fought in Syria. He was assassinated while he was in his car in front of his home.

In a statement, the IRGC blamed "counterrevolutionaries and elements affiliated with the global arrogance" for the assassination of the colonel, identified as Hassan Sayyad-Khodayari. Global arrogance is a term used by the Islamic Republic to refer to the United States.

In another statement that seemed like an attempt to compensate for the security lapse in Tehran, the IRGC and Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced they had discovered and captured a team of "thugs" linked with Israel's Mossad. 

The statement said the Israeli intelligence networks "were engaged in stealing and damaging public and private properties, kidnapping and getting forced confessions".

Earlier this month, a man who had confessed to planning assassinations on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in an audio tape claimed he was coerced by unknown people into making the confession.