Iranian President Confirms Khatib’s Killing
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 Defence 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 authorised the military to eliminate any other senior Iranian official under target, without requiring further approval. “PM Netanyahu and I have authorised 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 X. “ELIMINATED: Esmaeil Khatib, the Iranian terrorist regime Minister of Intelligence, in a targeted strike in Tehran,” the post read. The IDF said Khatib played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, including the arrest and killing of protestors 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.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
