TEL Aviv — Israel said on Thursday that Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri was reportedly killed in a strike in the coastal area of Bandar Abbas.
Tangsiri was allegedly responsible for ordering the closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the war on February 28.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said Tangsiri had been killed along with other senior naval commanders in a strike overnight.
The assassination of Alireza Tangsiri was carried out on Wednesday night and targeted other “senior officers of the naval command”, Israel Katz said on Thursday in a video statement.
“The man who was directly responsible for the bombing operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was blown up and eliminated,” he said.
Since the start of the United States-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, Israel has announced the assassination of several top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani.
The toll on civilians is far heavier.
Katz said the strike should serve as a “clear message” to top Iranian military officials that the Israeli military would hunt them down.
Howver, Iran did not immediately acknowledge Tangsiri’s killing. — Agencies
