Israel says it has killed Iran's navy chief overseeing Strait of Hormuz blockade

Key Points:

• Israel announced it has killed Alireza Tangsiri, the Iranian navy chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who was overseeing the near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil transit route.
• Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that several other senior IRGC Navy officials, including Behnam Rezaei, head of the IRGC Navy's intelligence directorate, were also killed; Iran has not yet responded to these claims.
• The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has drastically reduced daily maritime traffic by about 95%, significantly impacting global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies and driving up prices worldwide.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted cooperation between Israel and the US in targeting Iranian officials, while US Central Command described Tangsiri's death as making the region safer and urged IRGC members to abandon their posts.
• Tangsiri had been appointed IRGC Navy commander in 2018 and was previously sanctioned by the US after Iran downed a US surveillance drone near the strait in 2019; he frequently posted about enforcing the blockade on social media.