Iran says naval officer ‘martyred’ in latest mysterious military death

A senior Iranian naval officer has died as a “martyr” while “performing his mission,” according to Iranian media reports.

Admiral Beitaleh Devsalar’s funeral will be held Sunday in front of the Nowshahr Admiralty on the country’s northern coast, the semi-official Fars news agency says.

It is not clear exactly how the officer was killed, but the term “martyr” is usually given to those killed while on important assignments.

The death of the man comes as tensions remain high over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers, and its uranium enrichment program that is now the closest it has ever been to weapons-grade levels.

The latest incident is one of several mysterious deaths of high-level Iranian military figures in recent months. Last month, two members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division died as “martyrs” in Iran in separate incidents.