Jerusalem, Mar 26 (EFE).- An Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval commander linked to restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz was killed in an attack in southern Iran on Thursday, while two people died in Abu Dhabi after debris from an intercepted Iranian missile fell on a road, amid escalating tensions across the Gulf region.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said an Israeli airstrike killed Iranian naval commander Alireza Tangsiri “in a precise and lethal operation.”
“The IDF eliminated the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ navy, Tangsiri, along with senior officers of the naval command,” Katz said in a video statement.
“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.”
Israeli media first reported Tangsiri death in an attack in the port city of Bandar Abbas, citing an anonymous Israeli official.
Outlets including Haaretz, The Times of Israel, and The Jerusalem Post said Tangsiri had been responsible for overseeing restrictions on international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which roughly 20 percent of global oil supplies pass.
No further details were provided about the attack, including whether Israel or the United States was responsible, or the circumstances surrounding Tangsiri’s death.Neither the Israel Defense Forces nor Iranian authorities have publicly commented on the reports. When contacted by EFE, the Israeli military said it was “reviewing the reports” and would decide later whether to issue a statement.Some Iranian media had earlier reported an attack in Bandar Abbas but did not specify those responsible or mention casualties.
Tangsiri’s latest post on X, where his biography reads “The Persian Gulf is our home,” was published Tuesday.
In it, he stressed that “any vessel passing through this waterway (the Strait of Hormuz) requires full coordination with Iran’s maritime authority.”
Iran has restricted access to the Strait of Hormuz for what it describes as “enemy” vessels since the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran began on Feb. 28, while allowing passage for ships from countries it considers friendly, including Thailand and India.
The restrictions have contributed to rising oil prices due to the strait’s importance to global energy trade.
US President Donald Trump has called on Iran to reopen the route, a demand Tehran has so far rejected.
Meanwhile, in the United Arab Emirates, at least two people were killed and three others injured Thursday after shrapnel from an intercepted Iranian ballistic missile fell on Sueihan Road in Abu Dhabi, authorities said.Emirati air defenses “successfully intercepted a ballistic missile whose shrapnel fell on Sueihan Road,” the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement posted on X.
The incident killed two people, whose identities have not yet been disclosed, and injured three others. Several vehicles were also damaged, according to authorities.
Officials did not specify the intended target of the missile.
However, civilian and economic facilities in the UAE and other Gulf countries have been targeted by hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles since the conflict began on Feb. 28.
Although there is no official regional death toll, around 25 people are estimated to have been killed in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia in similar attacks launched by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard over the past four weeks.
These countries, along with Oman, form the Gulf Cooperation Council, an economic and political alliance of oil- and gas-rich states.
All are close US allies, and in some, such as Bahrain and Qatar, Washington maintains major military bases in the Middle East. EFE
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