Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the country’s military killed Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, in an airstrike in Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Tangsiri was appointed as commander in 2018 and was the mastermind behind ordering the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The city in which he was reportedly killed is a key Iranian port located near the strait.
“This is yet another example of the co-operation between us and our friend, the United States, toward the common goal of achieving the objectives of the war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said about the strike.
He was reportedly in a hideout in an apartment during the airstrikes, according to two officials, according to the New York Times.
In addition to approving the closure of the Strait, Tangsiri had implemented proactive military strategies in the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States. Earlier in March, he warned civilians near U.S. oil facilities in the Middle East to vacate the areas and that such locations throughout the region were viable targets and would “come under fire with full force.”
“Our list of targets is updated,” said Tangsiri. “Oil facilities associated with America are now on par with American bases and will come under fire with full force.”
The most recent public communications on his X account boasted about denying a container vessel access to travel through the Strait of Hormuz. It was posted on March 24.
LEBANON WITHDRAWS IRANIAN AMBASSADOR’S DESIGNATION AND GIVES HIM DAYS TO LEAVE
“The passage of any vessel through this waterway requires full coordination with Iran’s maritime authority, and this achievement would not have been possible without the backing of the noble people of Iran,” Tangsiri said in his last post on his account.
کشتی کانتینربر SELEN به دلیل عدم رعایت پروتکلهای قانونی و نداشتن مجوز عبور از #تنگه_هرمز، توسط نیروی دریایی سپاه به عقب بازگردانده شد.
عبور هرگونه شناور از این آبراهه مستلزم هماهنگی کامل با حاکمیت دریایی ایران است و این مهم جز به پشتوانه مردم شریف ایران به دست نمیآمد. pic.twitter.com/g6ei29Y90Q— علیرضا تنگسیری (@alirezatangsiri) March 24, 2026
Tangsiri is the latest prominent Iranian leader reported to be killed in airstrikes. Previously, noteworthy Iranians who were killed in airstrikes were Esmaeil Khatib, Iran’s top intelligence officer; Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council; Ali Mohammad Naini, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman and deputy of public relations; and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Guard’s Basij unit.