Israel has announced the killing of Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib, in a fresh escalation of its military campaign targeting senior figures within the Islamic Republic.
The announcement on Wednesday follows confirmation that Iranian security chief Ali Larijani was killed in an earlier Israeli strike, underscoring what officials describe as a deliberate strategy to dismantle Iran’s leadership structure.
In a statement, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said, “Last night Iran’s Intelligence Minister Khatib was also eliminated.”
He added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government had expanded the military’s authority to target high-ranking Iranian officials.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to eliminate any senior Iranian official for whom the intelligence and operational circle has been closed, without the need for additional approval,” Katz said.
“We will continue to thwart and hunt them all down.”
There was no immediate confirmation from Iran, which had earlier reacted with outrage and threats of retaliation following the killing of Larijani.
The intensifying conflict, now in its third week, began after coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel on February 28 that reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, triggering a wider regional confrontation.
Israel also confirmed it had targeted Akram al-Ajouri, head of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in a strike carried out inside Iran, further broadening the scope of its operations.
Israeli officials have additionally vowed to pursue Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since succeeding his father.
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