An Iranian Quds Force officer died under mysterious circumstances earlier this week after he was suspected of leaking information that led to the assassination of his fellow IRGC officer in May, Saudi-backed news outlet Iran International reported on Thursday evening.
The officer, reportedly identified as Colonel Ali Esmailzadeh, died on Monday after falling from the roof of his home in Karaj, near capital Tehran.
He was taken to a local hospital after his fall, where he was pronounced dead. As per Iran International, Esmailzadeh's family was told by the IRGC that he killed himself due to "psychological problems caused by separation from his wife," with an alleged letter left by the colonel backing up that claim.
News of Esmailzadeh's death comes two weeks after the assassination of Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari in Tehran.
Like Khodayari, Esmailzadeh was reportedly also a member of Quds Force's Unit 840, a secretive unit responsible for terrorist operations against Israeli and Western targets outside of Iran.
IRGC intel says officer was spying for the West
IRGC intelligence officers reportedly suspected information leaked from inside the organization led to Khodayari's assassination and were looking for potential informants inside Unit 840.
Esmailzadeh, reportedly a "close associate" of the slain officer, was interrogated and suspected of giving information to Western intelligence services.
According to Iran International, the IRGC then quickly moved to dispose of the accused officer by staging his suicide.