The report said that the Bassij agent, identified as Gholam-Reza Zabouni, was killed during a shootout with armed robbers in the Iranian capital.
The Bassij, affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), are Islamist vigilantes loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In 2005, following hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejads rise to the presidency, they were given powers to act as the countrys back-up police force.
Iranian authorities routinely execute dissidents on bogus charges, such as armed robbery and drug smuggling.
