Jerusalem, 26 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) — 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.”
Tangsiri 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.
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.