Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has claimed that Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, who headed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy, was killed in an air strike.
Iran was yet to acknowledge the killing of Tangsiri and other senior naval commanders in the overnight strike on Bandar Abbas.
Who was Alireza Tangsiri?
Alireza Tangsiri was a key official overseeing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He was allegedly responsible for bombing in the Strait, resulting in ships getting stranded in the water body.
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He was appointed the head of the IRGC navy in August 2018, the sixth commander since its inception in 1985. Tangsiri is known for being a favourite of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tangsiri is known for his long history of aggressive rhetoric against the US. When Tangsiri was a senior naval officer, he threatened that Iran would chase the US forces "even to the Gulf of Mexico" if provoked.
In 2016, Iran detained 10 US sailors after they encountered engine failure and entered Iranian waters. At the time, Tangsiri said the "US forces were surrendering to Iran."
Besides the slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the US-Israel joint strikes have killed several top Iranian leaders. Iran's security chief Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani were killed on March 17 in an Israeli strike near Tehran.
On March 20, Ali Mohammad Naini, the spokesperson of the IRGC, was killed in Israeli strikes.
IRGC commander-in-chief Mohammad Pakpour, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and Intelligence Minister Esmael Khatib were other prominent leaders killed in various strikes since February 28.