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On Thursday, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, declared that the country’s military had successfully targeted and eliminated Admiral Alireza Tangsiri of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Tangsiri was identified as a key figure obstructing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later supported Katz’s announcement, suggesting that the operation was a collaborative effort with the United States, aimed at neutralizing the IRGC leader.
Admiral Tangsiri, who led the IRGC’s naval forces, had consistently threatened to close off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital channel for global maritime trade. Iran’s aggressive posture in the region has contributed to soaring global petroleum prices, particularly affecting supply chains in East Asia. Nations like South Korea and China have been particularly vocal against any interference that might disrupt commercial shipping through this crucial waterway, urging for unimpeded economic activity.
This incident marks the latest in a series of high-profile eliminations of Iranian officials since the launch of “Operation Epic Fury” by then-President Donald Trump. This military campaign aims to dismantle Iran’s capability to support and carry out global terrorism. On February 28, the operation’s commencement was marked by the killing of Iran’s long-standing “supreme leader,” Ali Khamenei, leaving the nation in a leadership crisis. Although Iranian authorities have named his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the successor, his absence from the public eye has sparked rumors about his potential incapacitation.
“The individual directly accountable for the terrorist acts of mining and obstructing the Strait of Hormuz to shipping has been neutralized,” stated Defense Minister Katz on Thursday, noting that this precision operation also targeted other top IRGC leaders. The IRGC, recognized as the most formidable branch of Iran’s military, is also designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
“The IDF will hunt you down and eliminate you one by one,” Katz warned the Iranian regime leadership. “We will continue to operate in Iran with full force to achieve the objectives of the war.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu separately repeated on Friday that Israeli forces had eliminated Tangsiri, explaining, “this individual has a great deal of blood on his hands, and he was also responsible for leading the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.” He described the strike as “yet another example of the cooperation between us and our ally, the United States, in pursuit of our shared war objectives.”
The Iranian government has not, at press time, confirmed Tangsiri’s elimination. The admiral was a regular official cited in state media for much of the past year, however, particularly on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz. As recently as Wednesday, shortly before Katz announced his purported death, Tangsiri issued belligerent comments announcing that the IRGC had blocked the passage of a container ship and that it would continue to prevent the normal transit of commerce through the maritime byway.
“Any vessel’s passage through this waterway requires full coordination with Iran’s maritime sovereignty,” Tangsiri said on Wednesday, according to Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency. Tangsiri similarly announced on March 11 that any ship attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz must have Iranian permission to do so.
Tangsiri was also the official chosen to announce on March 18 that Iran would be targeting civilian oil facilities “linked to the U.S.” in the Middle East, demanding that “citizens and workers” avoid these locations. The announcement arrived weeks after Iran launched a massive missile and drone campaign in response to “Operation Epic Fury” primarily targeting neighboring Arab Muslim states. Iran has bombed more than a dozen countries since February 28, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Jordan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Several strikes have targeted fossil fuel facilities, including Qatar’s most valuable liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, raising global alarm regarding production of these fuels.
The Iranian naval chief had begun threatening ships in the Strait of Hormuz before “Operation Epic Fury” began. On February 17, Tangsiri told state media that the IRGC had imposed “full 24-hour intelligence dominance” in the strait – meaning that Iran was spying on every vessel transiting the body of water.
The Israeli announcement of Tangsiri’s elimination follows a flurry of anonymous reports claiming that Iran has begun attempting to negotiate an end to the war with the United States. Officials from the government of Pakistan claimed this week that they were mediating negotiations between Iran and America and that the United States had prepared a 15-point proposal for ending the conflict. On Wednesday, Iranian state media shared comments from a purported “official with knowledge of the details” who claimed that Tehran was not interested in the peace plan and had, instead, offered its own provisions for peace. Among Iran’s alleged demands were “reparations” from America to Iran and full control over the Strait of Hormuz.
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