Iran's IRGC rejects rumor of navy commander's assassination

TEHRAN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday roundly rejected rumors of the assassination of its Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri.

In a statement on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the rumor was spread by an Israeli social media account, identified as Terror Alarm, describing the account as "the operational arm of (Israel's intelligence agency) Mossad in psychological warfare."

It added that the account has a track record of spreading rumors about security and military areas and had earlier claimed that Commander of the IRGC Quds Force Esmaeil Qaani had been assassinated.

According to Sepah News, the Terror Alarm's rumor-spreading makes more sense, given U.S. President Donald Trump's psychological operation through sending warship fleets to the West Asia region over the past few days.

Also on Saturday, the IRGC's Navy also dismissed the rumor, saying no drone attack has been carried out against any of its headquarters in Hormozgan province, and no building affiliated with the force has been destroyed, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. ■