From 3h ago
IRGC navy commander killed in airstrike, says Israel defence minister
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps naval commander Alireza Tangsiri, together with several senior officers of the naval command, was killed in an overnight strike.
Tangsiri was described as “directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz” and said to have been “blown up”, Katz said in a video statement quoted by AFP.
Iran has not yet issued a response.
If confirmed, Tangsiri would join a series of senior Iranian officials killed since Israel and the US launched joint attacks against Iran on 28 February. Previous high‑profile losses include supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed at least five people on Thursday, according to Lebanese state media, while Hezbollah militants said they had carried out a new wave of attacks on Israel.
The Israeli military also announced the death of a soldier in fighting in southern Lebanon, bringing the total of troops killed since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into war with Israel to three.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on 2 March to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the group’s backer.
Yemen’s Iran‑aligned Houthi movement said it is ready to strike the Red Sea again in solidarity with Tehran, a Houthi leader told Reuters, warning that such action would worsen the global oil and economic crisis stemming from the Middle East war.
Should the Houthis open a new front, an obvious target would be the Bab al‑Mandab Strait off Yemen’s coast, a vital shipping chokepoint that controls traffic toward the Suez Canal after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Shi’ite allies in Lebanon and Iraq have joined the regional war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Tehran.
Nevertheless, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, heavily armed and able to hit Gulf neighbours and disrupt maritime navigation around the Arabian Peninsula, have not yet entered the conflict.
“We stand fully militarily ready with all options. As for other details having to do with determining zero hour they are left to leadership and we are monitoring and following up with the developments and will know when is the suitable time to move,” said the Houthi leader, who asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.
“Until now Iran is doing well and is defeating the enemy every day and the battle is going in its direction. If anything contrary to this happens then we can assess.”
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