Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday confirmed the death of Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, describing it as a "cowardly assassination", hours after Israel said its forces had killed him in an overnight airstrike on Tehran.
Israel's Defence Minister earlier said that Khatib was "eliminated" in strikes on Tuesday night, just a day after the assassination of two other key figures of the Iranian regime - Ali Larijani, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani on Tuesday.
Katz said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorised the military to eliminate any other senior Iranian official under target, without requiring further approval.
"PM Netanyahu and I have authorised the IDF to eliminate any senior Iranian official once an intelligence and operational window is established, without additional approval. Even today, there will be significant surprises across all fronts," he added.
The IDF also announced Khatib's killing in a post on X.
"ELIMINATED: Esmaeil Khatib, the Iranian terrorist regime Minister of Intelligence, in a targeted strike in Tehran," the post read.
The IDF said Khatib played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, including the arrest and killing of protestors and led terrorist activities against Israelis and Americans around the world.
Israel targets Iranian leaders
The latest killing comes shortly after Ali Larijani, who previously served as Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was killed on Monday night.
The death of the 67-year-old Larijani, a close associate of the late Ali Khamenei and his successor Mojtaba Khamenei, followed an attack the same night. It marks the loss of the most senior figure in Tehran’s leadership since the conflict began 19 days ago.
Additionally, Iranian state media confirmed on Tuesday that Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij forces, was also killed in what was described as an “American Zionist enemy” attack. Soleimani had led the internal security force for six years and was regarded as a key figure in Iran’s military response.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country’s political infrastructure remains a “very solid structure” and would not suffer a “fatal blow” following the killing of Larijani.
About Esmail Khatib
Esmail Khatib was a Shiite cleric who held various roles within Iran’s judiciary and the Intelligence Ministry. He also served in the Revolutionary Guard during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, where he was wounded in combat. The US Treasury sanctioned Esmail Khatib in 2022 for the Intelligence Ministry’s alleged "cyber-enabled activities against the United States and its allies", listed his year of birth as either 1960 or 1961 and said he was born in Ghayenat in Iran’s South Khorasan Province.
