Israel says it killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib. All you need to know about him
1 min readUpdated: Mar 18, 2026 05:24 PM IST
Amid the escalation of tensions between US-Israel and Iran, Jerusalem has claimed to have killed Tehran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in an overnight strike on Tuesday. Warning of aggravated hostilities and signalling “surprises”, Israel Defence Minister was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera this war will continue on both fronts – the one targeting Iran and the other targeting Hezbollah.
Khatib assumed the role of Iran’s Iran’s intelligence minister during the tenure of late former president, Ebrahim Raisi, back in 2021. Khatib, who held several senior posts in the ministry of intelligence and the Office of the Supreme Leader, had studied Islamic jurisprudence.
Back in 2022, Khatib was sanctioned by the US Treasury for his role as head of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence “for engaging in cyber-enabled activities against the United States and its allies”.
Khatib had joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, BBC reported.
