Israel claims Iran's intelligence minister Ismail Khatib has been killed
What's the story
Israel on Wednesday said that Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib has been killed in an airstrike. "On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon," Defense Minister Israel Katz said. He added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and he had authorized the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to target any senior Iranian official based on actionable intelligence without needing further approval.
Policy statement
'No 1 in Iran has immunity'
Katz said Israel is in a decisive phase of its operations, having recently eliminated senior regime figures such as Iran's "de facto leader Ali Larijani and Basij head Gholamreza Soleimani." He emphasized that "Israel's policy is clear and unequivocal: no one in Iran has immunity, and everyone is a target."
Confirmation
Khatib was appointed in 2021
Khatib had been appointed intelligence minister in 2021 and was considered close to the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is also reported to have been injured in earlier attacks. In November, before the eruption of mass protests in the Islamic Republic, Khatib warned of "conditions for the emergence of public discontent" and informed a Security Council meeting that "the enemy is trying to harm Supreme Leader Khamenei."
Regime stability
Iranian foreign minister reacts to Israel's claims
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has downplayed the impact of these assassinations on the regime's stability. He said, "I don't know why America and Israel still have not understood that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with well-established political, economic and social institutions." Araghchi added that even if key figures are killed, the system continues to function smoothly.