Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said that the IDF has “eliminated” Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in a strike overnight. However, Iran has not confirmed Khatib’s death.

Katz said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given the Israeli Defence Forces a free hand to kill any other senior Iranian official being targeted without taking additional approvals.

Khatib was appointed as the minister of intelligence by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2021 after holding several key positions in the IRGC.

He oversaw the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, the Iranian regime’s primary intelligence organisation. Recently, the minister claimed to break the Israeli intrusion inside Iran.

Notably, in its war of aggression, Israel has killed several key Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and National Security Advisor Ali Larijani, among others.