The Media Line: Iran Confirms Death of Intelligence Minister Khatib After Israeli Strike in Tehran  

Iran Confirms Death of Intelligence Minister Khatib After Israeli Strike in Tehran  

By The Media Line Staff  

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed Wednesday that Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib had been killed, while Israeli officials identified the strike as part of an expanding campaign targeting senior Iranian figures.  

Writing on the social media platform X, Pezeshkian mourned a series of losses among Iran’s leadership and security ranks. He named Khatib among those killed, along with Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, who was assassinated on Tuesday, and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, who was targeted on Feb. 28. He also referred to the deaths of relatives, accompanying personnel, and members of the military and Basij forces.  

Khatib, 65, had led Iran’s intelligence ministry since 2021, when he was appointed under former President Ebrahim Raisi, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. He remained in the position under the current administration. Earlier in his career, he worked in the office of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and later headed the judiciary’s protection and intelligence center.  

The Iranian president called the killings “cowardly assassinations.”  

“I firmly believe that their path will continue with even greater resolve than before,” he said.  

Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khatib was killed in an overnight airstrike in Tehran. During a security assessment, Katz pointed to a widening scope of operations.  

“On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he said, according to remarks released by his office.  

He added: “The intensity of the strikes in Iran is increasing. The Iranian intelligence minister Khatib was also eliminated overnight.”