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Israel says it has killed Iran's intelligence minister

By AAP Newswire

Mar 18, 2026

Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib has been killed, Israel's defence minister says. -EPA

Israel says it has killed another top Iranian official, the third in two days as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of slowing.

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Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed in an overnight strike, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

Katz added that "significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all fronts," without elaborating.

Iran did not immediately confirm Khatib's death.

Israel killed top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's Basij force on Tuesday.

Khatib was born in the early 1960s in the south-western province of Khuzestan. For the past five years, the Shi'ite cleric had been the minister for intelligence of the Islamic Republic. Previously, he had served in various roles within the Iranian security apparatus.

Khatib was considered to be exceptionally well-connected and retained his ministerial position even after the 2024 government reshuffle, when the ultraconservative government was replaced by reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian.

In 2022, the US imposed sanctions on Khatib. The background was cyberattacks that the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence was said to have commissioned.

with DPA