Head of IRGS navy killed, claims Israel

Israel said Thursday it killed Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy - the key official overseeing the closure of the strait.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had been killed along with other senior naval commanders in a strike overnight. Iran did not immediately acknowledge Tangsiri’s killing.

Israel said it carried out a wave of attacks early on Thursday targeting Iranian infrastructure, and air defenses were heard in Tehran. Heavy strikes were also reported around Isfahan, home to a major Iranian air base and other military sites, as well as one of the nuclear sites bombed by the US during the 12-day war in June.

Sirens sounded very early on Thursday morning in parts of Tel Aviv and cities in central Israel and later explosions were heard in Jerusalem. Since the war began, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Iran, its Health Ministry says. Seventeen people have been killed in Israel, while three Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. At least 13 American troops have been killed. More than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have also died.

Authorities said nearly 1,100 people have died in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, which has fired into Israel.