IRGC Navy chief dead

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Thursday that Israel had eliminated the Navy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, holding him "directly responsible for the terrorist act of bombing and blocking the Strait of Hormuz."

The killing sends a stark message to Tehran's military leadership. "This is a clear message to all senior officials of the Iranian terrorist organization, the Revolutionary Guards, who currently control Iran: the Israeli army will hunt you down and eliminate you one by one," Katz declared.

The strike is the latest in Israel's systematic campaign to decapitate the IRGC's command structure. By targeting the officer held responsible for one of the most economically disruptive acts of the conflict,  the threat to global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz,  Israel is signaling that no rank, however senior, offers protection.

The IRGC, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and several Western governments, has been at the center of Iran's military strategy throughout the conflict. Its commanders are increasingly finding themselves in Israeli crosshairs.