Behnam Rezaei

Behnam Rezaei served as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence chief, responsible for signals intelligence, human intelligence networks, and coordination of proxy operations around the Strait of Hormuz. A senior figure within the IRGC command structure, his role placed him at the operational heart of Iran's covert capabilities, though like most IRGC intelligence officers, he kept an exceptionally low public profile.

Rezaei was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Bandar Abbas at 3am on 26 March 2026, alongside Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC Navy, and multiple senior naval aides. The strike targeted Iran's principal Gulf naval base and its timing indicated precise intelligence on overnight command movements.

His death was the fifth senior IRGC figure killed by Israel in under a week, following the elimination of the Basij intelligence deputy and IRGC intelligence commander Mehdi Rostami Shomastan in earlier strikes. The pattern points to a systematic Israeli campaign to decapitate IRGC intelligence capacity at a moment when indirect US-Iran talks were under way, making Rezaei's removal both operationally and diplomatically significant.