The commander of the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Alireza Tangsiri, has been killed in an airstrike in Bandar Abbas. An Israeli government official confirmed the incident. It initially remained unclear whether the strike was carried out by Israel or the United States. No official statements were immediately issued by the Iranian military or the Revolutionary Guards.
Tangsiri had led the IRGC navy since August 2018 and played a central role in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway is one of the world’s most important energy trade routes, through which around 20 to 25 percent of global oil and gas shipments pass. The closure of the passage, along with production disruptions caused by Iranian strikes across the Gulf, led to a sharp increase in energy prices. Oil rose from $72 per barrel before the outbreak of hostilities to a peak of $119 and was most recently trading at around $105.
In the weeks before his death, Tangsiri had adopted an increasingly aggressive stance and announced an expansion of attacks. He also signaled that civilian targets in the region could be included and stated that oil-related facilities linked to the United States would henceforth be treated on par with military bases.
Tangsiri’s killing is part of a series of targeted attacks on senior Iranian officials. Since the start of the military conflict at the end of February, in which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was also killed, numerous key figures of Iran’s leadership have died. These include security chief Ali Larijani, IRGC chief Mohammad Pakpour, Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani, military chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, and Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib.
Israel has also announced that it intends to target the new Iranian leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has succeeded his father following his death.
Source: Firstpost