Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was reportedly killed on Wednesday in an overnight Israeli airstrike in Tehran – the third assassination of a high-ranking Iranian official in two days.
A senior U.S. official described Khatib as a key player in plots targeting America’s leaders, telling Fox News, “This man had American blood on his hands. His network specifically targeted current and former U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump…Today, he met the fate of his combatant comrades.”
Khatib had served as Iran’s intelligence minister since 2021 and was seen as a close ally of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He also previously held senior roles, including various positions within Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
U.S. officials had recently placed a bounty on Khatib for up to $10 million, along with any information that could be provided on nine other top Iranian officials.
Khatib had previously survived a series of strikes on Iran’s senior leadership at the “Defense Council” compound in Tehran during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, where more than 40 Iranian leaders were killed.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khatib was “responsible for the regime’s internal repression and assassination apparatus, as well as for advancing external threats,” adding that “Israel’s policy is clear and unequivocal: no one in Iran has immunity — everyone is a target,” per NBC News.
The Israel Defense Forces said Khatib played a big role during the recent protests throughout Iran, including the arrest and killing of protesters, and plotted against Iranian citizens during the Mahsa Amini protests of 2022 and 2023.
🔴ELIMINATED: Esmaeil Khatib, the Iranian terrorist regime Minister of Intelligence, in a targeted strike in Tehran.
Khatib played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, including the arrest & killing of protestors and led terrorist activities against… pic.twitter.com/654lpYCZ1c
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 18, 2026
The U.S. Treasury also sanctioned him in 2022 for overseeing cyberattacks against American government systems and those of allied countries.
Khatib had been the intelligence minister for nearly 5 years, taking over the position when former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was elected. When Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash, and Masoud Pezeshkian succeeded him, he kept Khatib in his role – an unusual move given that new presidents tend to replace top ministers with their own close associates throughout Iran’s recent history.
Khatib’s death is only the latest in a hectic week of high-profile assassinations and eliminations.
On Tuesday, Israel announced that Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, and the commander of Iran’s Basij forces, Gholamreza Soleimani, had both been killed, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
Larijani had been one of Iran’s most powerful political operators, having led the country’s “nuclear negotiations” with the West and served as speaker of the parliament. Soleimani also commanded the feared Basij paramilitary – a group that may be considered one of the biggest instruments of repression and terror inside Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz also announced that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given the Israeli military standing authorization to eliminate other senior Iranian officials in their sights without any case-by-case approval, per Al Jazeera.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed Khatib’s death on Wednesday, calling it a “cowardly assassination” and saying the killings of Khatib, Larijani, and others had left the nation “in deep mourning.”
Iran’s leaders, or what is remaining of them, have since vowed revenge, and the regime has already launched retaliatory missile strikes on Israeli cities.
