Iranian naval commander Alireza Tangsiri killed in attack, Israel says

DEVELOPING STORY, Defence minister claims Israel kills Alireza Tangsiri, citing his role in blocking the Strait of Hormuz.An Israeli air strike has killed Alireza Tangsiri, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, Israel’s defence minister says.The killing was carried out on Wednesday night “in a precise … operation” and targeted other “senior officers of the naval command”, Israel-katz" class="entity-link entity-person" data-entity-id="4249" data-entity-type="person">Israel Katz said on Thursday in a video statement.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran confirms killing of intel minister in third assassination in two dayslist 2 of 3Who leads Iran? Assassinations leave leadership and command in questionlist 3 of 3Iran’s IRGC says spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini killed in US-Israeli strikeend of list“The man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was blown up and eliminated,” he said.Since the start of the United States-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, Israel has announced the assassination of several top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani.Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said there was no official Iranian confirmation yet of Tangsiri’s killing.“But if it’s true, it’s going to be another major blow for a country that has already experienced a lot of military commanders being killed,” he said.The head of the Basij paramilitary forces, Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib were also assassinated in Israeli attacks.Moreover, in recent days, Israeli forces have carried out several strikes targeting the naval assets of Iran.Last week, Israeli air strikes hit several Iranian naval ships in the Caspian Sea, including ones equipped with missile systems, support vessels and patrol craft.