Israel says Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib has been killed in an overnight strike –
Israel assassinates Iranian intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib, IDF, Katz confirm
Before the assassination was confirmed, two sources gave The Jerusalem Post different indications on the likelihood of the success of the operation, which took place Tuesday night.
An IDF biographical infographic on Iranian intelligence minister Esmeil Khatib, killed by the IDF on March 18, 2026.
An IDF biographical infographic on Iranian intelligence minister Esmeil Khatib, killed by the IDF on March 18, 2026.
The IDF has assassinated Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and the military both confirmed on Wednesday.
Before the assassination was confirmed, two sources gave The Jerusalem Post different indications on the likelihood of the success of the operation, which took place Tuesday night.
It comes after Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani was also killed yesterday. Iran has not yet commented on Khatib
Meanwhile, Israel has launched a series of strikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut, as it continues its offensive against Hezbollah
One blast flattened a building in the city centre – this isn’t the so-called Hezbollah heartland of southern Beirut, but an area surrounded by businesses and hotels, writes the BBC’s Wyre Davies from the scene
Retaliatory strikes by Iran and its allied militia groups continue across the Middle East – in Israel, two people are killed in Tel Aviv, with blasts and drone interceptions reported in Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia
Earlier, the US military said it used bunker-busting “deep penetrator” bombs to hit Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz; the vital waterway for transporting oil has been effectively blocked by Iran since the war began
In Iran, residents live in constant dread – one woman says leaving home “is like gambling with my life”Khataib’s death marks the next most significant assassination in Iran since the early days of the war, other than the killing of Ali Larijani and the Basij chief on Monday night.
Khatib has been the intelligence minister since August 2021, when ultra-hardliner and former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was elected.
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