Israel has confirmed the killing of Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy and one of Iran’s most senior naval figures, in an airstrike on Thursday.

Tangsiri, who was responsible for authorizing the closure of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, was eliminated in a strike on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which sits directly on the strait. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the assassination.

The 64-year-old commander is the latest in a string of high-profile Iranian officials taken out in recent strikes. He follows the assassinations of IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini, regime heavyweight and de-facto leader Ali Larijani, and senior anti-protest enforcer Gholamreza Soleimani.

The strike underscores Israel’s ongoing campaign to degrade Iran’s military leadership and disrupt its ability to threaten global oil shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tangsiri not only gave the green light to close the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that oversees the shipment of 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, but also vowed to keep it shut after an order from the Islamic Republic’s new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

“In response to the order of the commander-in-chief, we will deliver the harshest blows to the aggressor enemy while maintaining the strategy of closing the Strait of Hormuz,” he had said.