Israel reportedly claimed the assassination was an attempt to warn Iran about the continuation of the operation of an alleged secret unit where Khodaei was a member. According to Ynet, Israel was outraged by the leak, and Israeli officials told Ynet that they were asking their American counterparts for a response since the New York Times report had blamed only Israel for the killings without mentioning the U.S. involvement.[11] Israel claimed Khodaei was the deputy head of an alleged secret unit known as 840 in the Quds Force that carried out kidnappings and assassinations of figures outside Iran, mostly against Israelis. Israel referred to the confessions of an Iranian farmer named Mansour Rasouli who, according to Israel, confessed to plotting attacks against American and Israeli figures.