March 19, 2026 | 10:14 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed that Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed in an Israeli strike on Wednesday night, March 19, 2026.
Khatib is the third senior Iranian official to be killed in the past two days. Earlier, Israeli airstrikes killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the paramilitary Basij forces, on Tuesday. Pezeshkian’s announcement came hours after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz publicly confirmed the operation.
Pezeshkian denounced the “cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues,” saying the attacks “left us heartbroken.” In a post on X, he added that their “path will continue stronger than before.”
Israel considers Khatib a trusted figure close to Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have granted permanent authorization to the Israeli military to target senior Iranian officials, without requiring case-by-case approval.
“This is seen as another success from the Israeli perspective in targeting the Iranian leadership,” Katz said.
Khatib was a prominent figure closely connected to the family of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and considered central to the Iranian regime. His death is expected to have a significant impact on Iran’s government structure.
The US State Department offered a $10 million reward on Friday for information on the new Iranian supreme leader and other senior officials, including Khatib.
Beyond Iran, Israel has also carried out operations targeting Hamas leaders inside and outside Gaza. Confirmed casualties include the group’s top political leader Yahya Sinwar, military commander Mohammed Deif, one of the founders of the Qassam Brigades in the 1990s, and political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was reportedly killed in Tehran.
Long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon and former Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Rahawi in Yemen have also reportedly been killed. Israeli officials have suggested that such targeted operations against regional figures may continue in the coming period.
Read: Iran Says Ali Larijani's Death Will Not Destabilize Political System
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