Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday that the Israeli military killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in an overnight strike. The operation marks the third assassination of a senior Iranian official within a 48-hour period, immediately following Tuesday airstrikes that resulted in the deaths of former parliament speaker Ali Larijani and Revolutionary Guard Basij commander Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani.
The targeted killings are part of a rapidly escalating military conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran that began in late February following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ongoing war has caused massive regional destabilization across the world, effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, driving up global energy prices, and sparking retaliatory drone and missile strikes across neighboring Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar.
Iranian officials have not yet issued a formal confirmation of Khatib’s death. However, Iranian state television broadcasted live footage of a large funeral procession for other recently slain leaders on Wednesday. Concurrently, Iranian state media reported that infrastructure connected to the offshore South Pars natural gas field was attacked.
In response to the recent strikes, Iran launched a retaliatory attack on Tel Aviv using missiles equipped with cluster warheads. These munitions are designed to separate into multiple smaller explosives mid-air, complicating interception efforts by air defense systems.
U.S. Central Command stated it fired multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator bombs targeting Iranian missile installations situated along the coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. Current estimates indicate that casualties within Iran have surpassed 3,000 since the conflict commenced late last month.
Israel kills Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib
Israel has killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday.
As of the time of filing this report, Iran has yet to speak on Israel's claim of killing Khatib.…
— Intel Region (@IntelRegion) March 18, 2026