March 26 (UPI) — The Israeli Defense Ministry said Thursday that it has killed the Iranian naval commander responsible for closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Defense Minister Israel Katz told military officials that Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, was killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday.
“The IDF eliminated the commander of the IRGC Navy, the person directly responsible for the terror operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic,” Katz said. “We will continue to operate in Iran with full force to achieve the objectives of the war.”
The strike targeted Bandar Abbas, Iran, a port city in the Hormozgan Province. It is located along the Persian Gulf on Iran’s southern coast
Along with leading the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, Tangsiri was also responsible for overseeing Iran’s testing of drones and cruise missiles the U.S. Treasury Department says. He served as the chairman of the board for the company that built and tested the navy’s drones.
Tangsiri was appointed to lead Iran’s navy by former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2018. Khamenei was killed on Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched an air campaign on Iran.
Earlier this week, Iran informed the U.N. International Maritime Organization that it would allow non-hostile vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s letter to the United Nations was dated March 22, and was received on Tuesday.
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