Iranian cyber-security chief, Mojtaba Ahmadi, commander of the Cyber War Headquarters, has been shot dead. He had been shot twice through the heart.

Rumors are that the hit was the work of the Israel's intelligence unit, Mossad. However, the country's Revolutionary Guard has cautioned against assuming the murder was an assassination.

Shashank Joshi, from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said: “Iran’s cyber attacks on Israel and elsewhere in the region are a rising threat and a growing threat, but it hasn’t yet been seen as a major and sustained onslaught, so it would be pretty novel and significant to take this step in the field of cyber-warfare at this time."

The modus operandi of the killing, which is thought to have been carried out by two men on motorcycles, is similar to previous assassinations against prominent Iranian officials.