Israeli navy reveals new details to 'Post' about assassinations against Iran, Hezbollah - exclusive

The Israeli navy has disclosed previously classified details regarding its involvement in assassinating Iranian Naval Chief Alireza Tangsiri and striking key Iranian naval production sites. On March 26, the IDF announced that naval intelligence had aided in Tangsiri's assassination in Bandar Abbas and had targeted Iranian sites related to submarine and cruise missile production.

While the killing of Tangsiri and the navy's role were seen as strategic moments leading to an early April ceasefire, the specifics of his death remained secret until now. The Jerusalem Post reports that the US and Israel had attempted to assassinate Tangsiri multiple times before the successful March 26 operation. The process involved Israeli naval intelligence and operations directorates conducting specialized research to identify Iranian naval officials and their operational patterns.

Following this research, specific individuals, including Tangsiri, were added to the target bank for IDF intelligence and the air force. IDF intelligence then used leads from the navy to acquire real-time intelligence for the assassination, which was subsequently passed to the air force. An officer from the navy's operations directorate was embedded with the air force targeting staff to conduct final checks before strikes were executed against Tangsiri and other Iranian naval targets.

Around the same time as Tangsiri's assassination, the air force, using intelligence from the navy and the broader IDF intelligence directorate, struck two significant naval cruise missile production sites in Tehran. These sites, operating under Iran's Ministry of Defense, were crucial for developing long-range naval cruise missiles capable of threatening maritime and land targets, including those in the Strait of Hormuz. Defense sources confirmed that Israel also provided intelligence assistance to the US concerning the Strait. By April 16, the navy reported providing intelligence for 154 attacks during the early 2026 war with Iran and Hezbollah, with 95 of those attacks targeting Iran, 68 of which were conducted by US forces based entirely on Israeli naval intelligence.