March 18, New Delhi – Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced on Wednesday that they had killed Iran's Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib, in an overnight strike. However, Iran has not confirmed Khatib's death.
While announcing Khatib's death, Katz said that "significant developments are expected throughout the day on all fronts," without elaborating.
Khatib was a Shia cleric who held various positions in Iran's judiciary and the Intelligence Ministry. He served in the Revolutionary Guard during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Katz said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given the military a free hand to eliminate any other senior Iranian official being targeted without seeking additional approvals.
This would be the third high-profile assassination of an Iranian leader in two days. On Tuesday, Israel killed Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' all-volunteer Basij force.