Iran has confirmed that an Israeli airstrike last week killed Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The attack, announced by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Thursday, targeted Tangsiri, whom Israel described as the “man directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz.”
A statement carried by the IRGC’s Sepah News website said Tangsiri “succumbed to severe injuries” sustained in the strike.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained largely absent from public view since assuming leadership after his father’s killing on February 28, extended condolences via Telegram.
He described Tangsiri as “a soldier of Iran and guardian of Islam” and hailed his contributions during the ongoing war.
The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
Since the outbreak of hostilities two months ago, Iran has significantly restricted passage through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, causing global energy prices to spike.
The IRGC statement said Tangsiri was actively organising coastal defences at the time of the strike and pledged that Iran “will not rest until the enemy is completely destroyed.”
Tangsiri is the latest high-ranking Iranian official confirmed killed in the war.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, and Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, along with more than a dozen other senior figures, have also been reported dead in recent weeks.
Israeli officials said other senior officers in the naval command were killed in the strike, though details remain scarce.
A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war (1980–1988), Tangsiri was one of the longest-serving senior officers in the IRGC Navy.
Appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei in 2018, he was tasked with strengthening the naval branch to defend Iran against internal and external threats.
Under his leadership, the IRGC Navy significantly expanded its capabilities and claimed responsibility for seizing multiple foreign vessels.
He was also sanctioned by the United States in 2019 under counter-terrorism measures.
Despite the losses of key leaders, analysts say Iran continues to demonstrate resilience and the capacity to recover strategically.
Tangsiri had previously vowed to deliver “the harshest blows to the aggressor enemy while maintaining the strategy of closing the Strait of Hormuz,” underscoring his central role in Iran’s maritime strategy.
The confirmation of Tangsiri’s death is expected to escalate tensions further in the region, highlighting the intensifying conflict between Iran and Israel and its wider implications for global energy security.
