Iranian state television on Wednesday officially confirmed the death of Esmail Khatib, the country’s Minister of Intelligence, in an operation carried out by Israeli forces.
Khatib’s death comes shortly after the targeted killings of Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani and head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij volunteer force, Aziz Nasirzade, marking a series of high-profile assassinations of senior Iranian military and intelligence officers over the past two days.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister claimed responsibility for Khatib’s death, though initial reports were speculative until the confirmation by Iranian state media.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), said in a statement posted on social media that Khatib played a central role in suppressing protests across Iran, including overseeing the arrest and killing of demonstrators during the Mahsa Amini protests of 2022–2023, and directed operations targeting Israeli and American interests internationally.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also confirmed the intelligence minister’s death on X, expressing deep sorrow.
He said: ‘The cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues Ismail Khatib, Ali Larijani, and Aziz Nasirzadeh, alongside some of their family members and accompanying team, has left us in deep mourning’.
