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Anthony Hershko/TPS-IL on 22 January, 2024
Israeli Airstrike Kills Iranian Naval Chief Behind Hormuz Blockade
Jerusalem, 26 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Editor’s note: This story was updated to include information about Behnam Rezaei.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Thursday that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ naval forces overseeing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with senior naval officials.
Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, “the man who was directly responsible for the terrorist act of bombing and blocking the Strait of Hormuz for shipping – was blown up and foiled,” Katz said.
“This is a clear message to all senior officials of the Iranian terrorist organization, the Revolutionary Guards, which currently controls Iran: The IDF will hunt you down and foil you one by one,” Katz added.
Katz did not disclose additional details, but stressed that Israel will continue to operate in Iran “with all our might to achieve the goals of the war.”
The Israel Defense Forces said Tangsiri had been involved in the transfer of air defense systems and UAVs to Russia and Syria. He and several other IRGC commanders were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in June 2019 after the IRGC shot down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Alongside Tangsiri, the IDF confirmed the death of Behnam Rezaei, head of the IRGC Navy Intelligence Directorate, who it said “constituted a central knowledge authority in maritime intelligence.”
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Oman and Iran, is a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments, with roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum passing through it daily. The Iranian blockade has stranded an estimated 1,900 ships crewed by 40,000 sailors.
