On Thursday, March 26, 2026, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces (Tzva ha-Hagana le-Yisra’el, IDF) reported on social media the elimination of officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN), including its commander, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri.
Adm. Alireza Tangsiri / Photo: Tasnim News Agency
The Israeli Air Force (Heyl HaAvir) reportedly carried out an airstrike on the headquarters of the IRGCN at the main naval port of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan Province. In addition to the IRGCN commander himself, those reportedly killed included the Director of Naval Intelligence, Behnam Rezaei, who was responsible for gathering intelligence on countries in the region and overseeing cooperation with various intelligence organizations, as well as other officers whose identities are still being established.
Alireza Tangsiri was born in 1962 and had served as commander of the IRGCN since August 23, 2018, replacing Admiral Ali Fadavi.
Tangsiri received his first naval command assignments during the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988). He later commanded the 1st IRGCN District in Bandar Abbas and, from 2010 to 2018, served as deputy commander of the IRGCN.
Tangsiri was known for very hardline anti-American and anti-Israeli statements. In September 2007, he declared that if the United States attacked Iran, “we would pursue them even to the Gulf of Mexico.” In January 2016, after Iran detained 10 U.S. sailors during a maritime incident—when two patrol boats suffered engine failure and entered Iranian waters – Tangsiri described it as a capitulation of U.S. forces to Iran. In November 2021, the Iranian officer stated that the United States had come to understand the superiority of the Islamic Republic at sea.
In March 2025, Admiral Tangsiri warned that “if the enemies make a mistake, we will send them to the depths of hell,” after U.S. President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging Iran to reach a nuclear agreement with the United States or face potential military action.
In April 2025, Tangsiri stated that the U.S. Navy was incapable of undermining Iran’s maritime dominance. Despite his earlier claims, nearly the entire Iranian navy was reportedly neutralized in less than three weeks as a result of combined U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Regarding his views, in 2013 Tangsiri said: “Israelis are Jews, and Americans are Christians. Our Quran emphasizes that they are not our friends.” In 2022, he claimed that Saudi rulers are descendants of Jews from Medina and Khaybar, enemies of the Prophet Muhammad. He had previously threatened U.S. and British vessels in the Persian Gulf.
On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Tangsiri, placing him on the SDGT (Specially Designated Global Terrorist) list, freezing all his assets in the United States and prohibiting U.S. persons from conducting business with him under Executive Order 13224. In 2024, he was subjected to secondary sanctions due to his position on the board of Paravar Pars Company, an Iranian military firm involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles and already under U.S. sanctions.
In recent years, as IRGCN commander, he was responsible for the illegal seizure of foreign commercial vessels in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, as well as, in the past month, attacks on maritime infrastructure in the region and on commercial shipping.
🔴Additionally, the IDF eliminated the Head of the IRGC Navy Intelligence Directorate, Behnam Rezaei.
Rezaei was responsible for intelligence collection on regional countries and led cooperation with various intelligence organizations. https://t.co/kOwOTB4iQT pic.twitter.com/PM5beFAdUr
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 26, 2026
UPDATE
Statement from Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander:
“The death of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – Navy (IRGC-N) commander, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, from an Israeli airstrike makes the region safer. Tangsiri commanded the IRGC-N for eight years, during which time the IRGC harassed thousands of innocent merchant mariners, attacked hundreds of vessels with one way attack drones and missiles, and killed countless innocent civilians. He was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury in June 2019, with additional secondary sanctions added in 2024 related to drone development.
Since the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, 92% of the large ships in the Iranian Navy have been eliminated. As a result, IRGC-N has completely lost their ability to project power in the Middle East or around the world. Now, with the loss of their long-time leader, the IRGC-N is on an irreversible decline.
U.S. military strikes on the IRGC-N will continue. Therefore, we call on every Iranian serving in the IRGC-N to immediately abandon their post and return home to avoid further risk of unnecessary injury or death.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, dowódca CENTCOM
Statement from Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander: pic.twitter.com/oVqhVjgIDL
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 26, 2026