Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz said an Israeli airstrike has killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy.
“Last night, in a precise and deadly operation, the Israel Defence Forces eliminated Navy Commander Quir Tangsiri along with senior officers of the naval command,” Katz said in a video message on March 26.
He described Tangsiri as the man “who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation to mine and block the Strait of Hormuz for shipping.”
Iran has not commented on the situation, nor has Tangsiri’s death been reported by mainstream Iranian media.
Some Israeli media said Tangsiri was killed in a strike on Bandar Abbas, a port city in the southern province of Hormozgan on the Persian Gulf.
Several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Security Service chief Ali Larijani, have been killed since the start of joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.