Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday announced that his country\u2019s military killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019s navy, Commodore Alireza Tangsiri.<\/p>\n
Tangsiri and other senior naval commanders were killed in an Israeli strike overnight, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis man had a great deal of blood on his hands,\u201d Netanyahu said in a video<\/a> shared on the social platform X. \u201cHe was also the one who led the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu added that the strike was \u201canother example of the cooperation\u201d between Israel and the U.S. \u201ctoward the common goal of achieving the objectives of the war.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s government has not officially confirmed Tangsiri\u2019s death.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command confirmed Tangsiri\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads Centcom, said in a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0that the U.S. Treasury designated Tangsiri a \u201cSpecially Designated Global Terrorist\u201d in June 2019 and sanctioned him for drone development five years later.<\/p>\n Tangsiri\u2019s death \u201cfrom an Israeli airstrike makes the region safer,\u201d Cooper added.<\/p>\n \u201cTangsiri commanded the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019 navy] for eight years, during which time the IRGC harassed thousands of merchant mariners, attacked hundreds of vessels with one way attack drones and missiles, and killed countless innocent civilians,\u201d the admiral said.<\/p>\n The Strait of Hormuz closed following the start of the conflict late last month. Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran\u2019s supreme leader, ordered the strait remain closed<\/a> until all hostilities cease. The strait\u2019s closure has resulted in skyrocketing oil and gas prices, with the national average for gas in the U.S. reaching $3.98 per gallon on Thursday, according to AAA<\/a>. Gas was $1 cheaper per gallon on Feb. 26, two days before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.<\/p>\n Officials in Tehran rejected the U.S.\u2019s 15-point peace plan<\/a> and submitted a counterproposal that requests Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to all hostilities and to stop the attacks on the country\u2019s officials.<\/p>\n Several Iranian officials have been killed since the start of the conflict, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n President Trump accused the Iranians of \u201cbegging\u201d for a deal<\/a>, attacking them for only \u201clooking at our proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWRONG!!!\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/a> on Thursday. \u201cThey better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won\u2019t be pretty!\u201d<\/p>\n The president previously touted that talks between the U.S. and Iran have been \u201cproductive,\u201d and that the U.S. will not negotiate with Mojtaba Khamenei.<\/p>\n But Iranian officials have struck a defiant tone<\/a> on social media. Iranian Foreign Minister\u00a0Abbas Araghchi\u00a0said on his country\u2019s state media that the U.S. failed in accomplishing its objectives and dismissed the idea that Iran was directly negotiating with the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. backed Israel\u2019s Gaza blockade, cutting aid under \u2018security\u2019 claims, yet condemns Iran for defending itself in Strait of Hormuz,\u201d he wrote on X<\/a> Thursday. \u201cDouble standard: Israel\u2019s crimes are OK while Iran\u2019s defense against aggressors is condemned. International law is not a tool of convenience.\u201d<\/p>\n The Associated Press contributed.<\/p>\n Updated at 11:17 a.m. EDT<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n