Israel eliminates Iranian intelligence minister who survived initial strike, official confirms

(SeaPRwire) –   A senior Israeli official stated on Wednesday that Israel carried out a precision overnight strike that killed Iran’s Minister of Intelligence Esmaeil Khatib.

The official noted that the strike was made possible by a joint U.S.-Israeli intelligence collaboration, and characterized Khatib as a key figure behind plots targeting American officials.

“This individual has American blood on his hands. His network specifically targeted both current and former U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump,” the official added.

According to the official, Khatib had previously survived a large-scale strike on Iran’s senior leadership at the “Defense Council” compound in Tehran during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, an attack that killed more than 40 Iranian leaders in roughly 40 seconds.

He was reportedly the only person to survive that initial attack.

“Today, he met the fate of his fellow combatant comrades,” the official noted.

Since the start of the war, Israel has targeted and killed several senior Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Gen. Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij unit, and Mohammad Pakpour, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Israel Defense Forces said Khatib played a central role in directing crackdowns against protesters, including arrests and killings during recent unrest and the nationwide demonstrations sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Khatib in 2022 for his leadership of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), which U.S. officials stated was responsible for cyberattacks against the United States and its allies.

The Treasury noted that the ministry oversaw global cyber operations targeting government and private-sector organizations, including disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure.

United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonpartisan advocacy group, shared that Khatib enlisted in the IRGC at the outbreak of the 1980 Iran-Iraq War and studied under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.

He joined MOIS in 1985 or 1986, after the agency was established in 1983.

Last week, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered up to $10 million for information on senior Iranian security figures tied to the IRGC and its networks, including Khatib.