Israel Says It Killed Iranian Naval Commander as Trump Raises Pressure on Tehran

Pakistan’s foreign minister confirmed on Thursday that it has been facilitating back-channel communications between the United States and Iran, including relaying a 15-point U.S. proposal aimed at ending the war, which is now in its fourth week. But Pakistani officials refused to speculate on whether they would soon host any high-level foreign officials, appearing to downplay the prospect of formal talks between the two sides.

Amid conflicting signals over a possible diplomatic breakthrough, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has ordered the Israeli military to attack as much of Iran’s arms industry as possible this week, according to two senior Israeli officials and two people briefed on the matter. The instructions reflected Israel’s concern that Mr. Trump might end the war before its key aims are achieved, the officials said.

Mr. Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Israeli military had killed Alireza Tangsiri, the naval commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iran did not immediately comment on the claim. Mr. Tangsiri would be the latest senior Iranian official to be targeted and killed since Israel and the United States began their coordinated attacks against Iran on Feb. 28.

Mr. Tangsiri was in an apartment hide-out in the area of Bandar Abbas, a port city in southern Iran, with other Revolutionary Guards officers at the time of the attack, according to two Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

He oversaw the naval force’s testing of drones and cruise missiles, according to the U.S. Treasury, which imposed sanctions on him in 2019 and 2023. In recent weeks, he posted repeatedly on social media about Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas route, and about attacks carried out by the Guards’ navy.

Mr. Trump has said that Iran is willing to negotiate because it is close to defeat. But the Pentagon this week ordered the deployment of about 2,000 more soldiers to the Middle East, suggesting it is preparing for continued fighting.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Hardening demands: Diplomats said that Mr. Trump’s 15-point peace plan calls for what would amount to a complete termination of Iran’s nuclear program and strict limits on its missile arsenal. Iran said in comments carried on state television Wednesday that Iran would not end its attacks unless the United States paid war reparations and recognized Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz.

• New attacks: The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had struck targets in Isfahan, in central Iran, and had detected missiles launched from Iran toward Israel. Iran also launched strikes against U.S. allies and sites in the Persian Gulf. In Abu Dhabi, falling debris from a missile interception killed two people, authorities in the United Arab Emirates said.

• Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country since the war began — a toll that has not been updated since March 11. Almost 1,100 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Wednesday. At least 15 people were killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.

• United States: Several Congressional Republicans left classified Pentagon briefings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday expressing frustration at what they said was a lack of detailed information about the Trump administration’s next steps in the war.

• Lebanon: The Israeli military said that one of its soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon. At least three Israeli soldiers have been killed in the area since fighting intensified between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia, in early March.