BREAKING: Israel Says It El!minated Iran’s Intelligence Chief Esmail Khatib

According to Ireporter Online, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday that Israel has killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib. Iran has not immediately confirmed Khatib’s death, consistent with the country’s response patterns during the ongoing conflict.

The announcement comes a day after Israel reported it had killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force. Katz indicated that “significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all the fronts,” though he did not provide further details.

Ireporter Online reports that Khatib was sanctioned by the United States Treasury in 2022 for the Intelligence Ministry’s involvement in cyber operations targeting the US and its allies. The Treasury listed his birth year as either 1960 or 1961 and described him as directing multiple cyber threat networks engaged in espionage and ransomware attacks in support of Iran’s political objectives.

The Israeli military described Khatib’s ministry as possessing “advanced intelligence capabilities” and carrying out operations globally, including against Israel. According to Ireporter Online, Khatib played a major role in suppressing protests across Iran, including the Mahsa Amini protests, overseeing arrests and the deaths of demonstrators, while shaping the regime’s intelligence strategies.

The US Treasury further labeled Iran’s Intelligence Ministry as one of the country’s primary security agencies, responsible for widespread human rights violations. Under Khatib’s leadership, the ministry reportedly targeted human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, journalists, filmmakers, and members of religious minority communities.

Khatib, a Shiite cleric, held several positions within Iran’s judiciary and Intelligence Ministry, and served in the Revolutionary Guard during the Iran-Iraq War, where he was injured in combat.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television broadcast live footage of funeral processions in Tehran for Larijani and the slain head of the Basij, Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani. Thousands attended, with Larijani’s body and that of his son displayed on a semitruck bed adorned with images of the deceased, while attendees waved Iranian flags. Ireporter Online notes that Iran has increasingly organized large pro-government gatherings as Israeli airstrikes continue targeting the country’s senior leadership, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the outset of the conflict on February 28.