The strike came at 3 a.m. local time on Thursday in Bandar Abbas, the Iranian port city beside the Strait of Hormuz. By morning, the Israel Defense Forces and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had confirmed that Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, was dead. An Israeli official had first passed word to The Jerusalem Post.
Israeli defense sources told the paper that several of Tangsiri’s top naval aides died in the same attack. The Israeli Air Force said it acted on precise intelligence from the IDF and Navy. Ukrainian outlet UNN reported that Behnam Rezaei, who headed the IRGC Navy’s intelligence department, was also killed.
What Israel said
In a video statement, Netanyahu said Tangsiri had “a great deal of blood on his hands” and was the man “who led the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.” He went on: “We continue to strike the targets of the Iranian terror regime with force. This is another example of the cooperation between us and our ally, the United States, in pursuit of our shared war objectives.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz made a separate confirmation. He described Tangsiri as the official “directly responsible” for mining the strait and blocking shipping through it. Katz told security officials the killing was “also an important development for our American partners, as it reflects the IDF’s role in helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
The man and his record
Tangsiri had run the IRGC Navy since August 2018. Under him the force grew, adding thousands of weapons, with missiles and naval mines at the front of the list. The Jerusalem Post said he directed attacks on oil tankers and commercial vessels with drones and sea mines, and built up intelligence-gathering to support operations at sea.
Once the current war began, his role expanded. He became the key figure approving most maritime attacks in southern Iran, according to the paper, including operations that damaged civilian infrastructure and US-linked targets. It also reported that the IRGC Navy helped allied groups, the Houthis in particular, with maritime intelligence and tracking of ships in waterways such as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. UNN added that Tangsiri faced numerous international sanctions over attacks on vessels and over the transfer of air defense systems and drones to Russia and Syria.
His rhetoric had hardened in recent weeks. The week before, he threatened retaliation against US facilities in the region and told civilians and workers to keep away. “Our list of targets is updated,” he said. “Oil facilities associated with America are now on par with American bases and will come under fire with full force.”
The wider war
Washington has said repeatedly that eliminating Iran’s naval capabilities is a top priority. Since the war started, the US is believed to have destroyed around 100 vessels used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the IRGC, the Jerusalem Post reported.
UNN framed the killing as one more loss for Iranian command, joining dozens of commanders eliminated so far. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi stated that the Strait of Hormuz is open to Russia, China, and India.
Sources
- Israeli strike kills IRGC Navy chief 'behind blocking of Strait of Hormuz' | The Jerusalem Post
- Israel eliminated IRGC Navy Commander Tansiri, who led efforts to block the Strait of Hormuz
