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In the capital city of Tehran, on August 17, 2024, Iran’s then-Minister of Intelligence, Esmail Khatib, was seen alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian as he engaged with parliament members, advocating for his cabinet selections.
Image Credit: Atta Kenare | AFP | Getty Images
On Wednesday, the Israeli Defense Forces announced that Esmail Khatib, Iran’s intelligence minister, had been killed in a “targeted strike” in Tehran. This incident marks the third assassination of a senior figure within a span of just two days.
The IDF’s statement on social media emphasized Khatib’s influential role in recent Iranian protests, highlighting his involvement in the arrest and killing of demonstrators and his orchestration of terrorist activities aimed at Israelis and Americans globally.
Moreover, they noted his actions against Iranian citizens during the Mahsa Amini protests from 2022 to 2023.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged Khatib’s death through a message posted on the platform X.
“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,” Pezeshkian wrote.
It comes after Israel said Tuesday that Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, and the commander of Iran’s Basij forces, Gholamreza Soleimani, had both been killed. Iran’s official judiciary news agency later confirmed the killing of Soleimani, The Associated Press reported.
Thousands of Iranians attend a funeral ceremony held for Iranâs Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, Basij commander Gholam Reza Soleimani affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and 84 Iranian Navy personnel killed in Israeli and United States attacks at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, on March 18, 2026.
Fatemeh Bahrami | Anadolu | Getty Images
According to AP, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council released a statement confirming Larijani was killed “along with his son Morteza Larijani and the head of his office, Alireza Bayat, as well as several guards.”
The IDF said Khatib was appointed to his position in 2021 by Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in strikes aimed at high-ranking Iranian officials at the beginning of the war on Feb. 28.
Iran has since retaliated by attacking its Gulf neighbors and targeting ships trying to pass through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. and Israeli-led war against Iran entered its 19th day on Wednesday, with Israel launching a series of strikes on Lebanon’s capital of Beirut as it continues its offensive against Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Iran and its allied military groups have launched a series of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, amplifying fears of a sprawling regional crisis.
