Top Iranian Official Killed Overnight as Strikes Are Escalated to 'a New Level'
Israel announced Wednesday that it has killed its third top Iranian official this week.
Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed by the Israel Defense Forces, according to The Washington Post.
A day earlier, Israel announced the killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary force.
Israel says it assassinated Iranian intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib in overnight strike https://t.co/aEALSoZ9P9
— Steven Gaydos (@HighSierraMan) March 18, 2026
“The intensity of the strikes in Iran is reaching a new level,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
“Israel’s policy is clear and unequivocal: No one in Iran has immunity, and everyone is a target,” Katz said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that “crossing names off the list is good — doing it shoulder to shoulder with our American friends is even better.”
Crossing names off the list is good – doing it shoulder to shoulder with our American friends is even better.
Good to see Ambassador @GovMikeHuckabee. Always a pleasure.
🇮🇱🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/FZrZN03IZI
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 17, 2026
Khatib was sanctioned by the United States in 2022 in connection with his oversight of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and his role in leading cyberattacks.
Katz said he and Netanyahu had “authorized the IDF to [eliminate] any senior Iranian figure… without the need for additional approval,” according to the Times of Israel.
The IDF said Khatib “played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, both with regards to the arrests and killing of protesters, as well as shaping the regime’s intelligence assessment.”
Khatib led Iran’s“terror activities against Israeli and American targets around the world, as well as activities directed against targets within Israel,” the IDF said.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Khatib was close to slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and rose to power through the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The scale of the war against Iran widened Wednesday after Israel attacked an Iranian gas field.
The Israeli Air Force struck Iranian gas infrastructure in the south of the country a short while ago, an Israeli official says.
According to the official, the strikes hit Iran’s largest gas processing facility, in the Bushehr Province.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency had reported…
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 18, 2026
The South Pars gas field targeted in the attack is the world’s largest natural gas reserve, according to the Jerusalem Post. The field is operated by Iran and Qatar.
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