NEW DELHI, Mar 18: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday late evening confirmed the death of Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib, describing it as a “cowardly assassination”, hours after Israel said its forces had killed him in an overnight airstrike on Tehran.
Israel’s Defense Minister earlier said 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 authorized the military to eliminate any other senior Iranian official under target, without requiring further approval. “PM Netanyahu and I have authorized 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 The IDF said Khatib played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, including the arrest and killing of protesters and led terrorist activities against Israelis and Americans around the world.
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.”
(Rohit Kumar)
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