*Duo To Be Assassinated Days Ago, But Pakistan Told US Of Their Importance In Ongoing Peace Negotiations -Source
*Strait Shutdown Responsible For Rising Global Oil Prices
Israel said yesterday that the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC ), Navy, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, had been killed in an airstrike, the latest senior Iranian official targeted in a relentless hunt-and-kill campaign.
Later, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the killing and said that in addition to Tangsiri, the strike also killed the IRGC Navy’s intelligence chief, Behnam Rezaei, and the rest of the Navy’s top leadership.
The military did not immediately name other top commanders killed in the strike.
However, Israel took Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf off its hit list after Pakistan requested that Washington not target them, a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
Qalibaf is reportedly the “top man” with whom US President Donald trump said Monday he has been indirectly negotiating on terms for ending the conflict.
“The IDF eliminated the Commander of the IRGC Navy, the person directly responsible for the terror operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said during a morning assessment with military officials.
Katz said the strike was a “message” to the IRGC: “The IDF will hunt you down and eliminate you one by one.”
“We will continue to operate in Iran with full force to achieve the objectives of the war,” he added.
Tangsiri was targeted in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas while meeting with senior commanders of the IRGC Navy, according to the military.
“Over the years, Tangsiri was responsible for attacks on oil tankers and commercial vessels and personally threatened the freedom of navigation and trade in the Strait of Hormuz and the international maritime domain,” the IDF said.
During the current war, the IDF said he “led efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz and advanced terror attacks in the maritime domain, one of the primary figures responsible for disrupting the global economy.”
The IDF said the killing of Tangsiri and the IRGC Navy leadership “constitutes an additional significant blow to the command-and-control arrays of the IRGC and its abilities to orchestrate terror activities in the maritime domain against countries in the region.”
Tehran has largely blocked the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, pushing up global energy prices.
Nonetheless, Israel took top envoy Araghchi and Speaker Qalibaf off its hit list after Pakistan requested that Washington not target them, the Pakistani source told Reuters.
“The Israelis had their coordinates and wanted to take them out, we told the US if they are also eliminated then there is no one else to talk to, hence the US asked the Israelis to back off,” the source said.
Pakistan’s military and foreign office did not immediately respond to requests for comment,the media outlet said.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the two top Iranian officials had been temporarily removed from Israel’s list of officials to eliminate as they explore possible peace talks.
The two officials have been removed from the list for up to four or five days, the Wall Street Journal said, citing US officials.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Admiral Tangsiri,when he was alive.
