From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
IDF says intelligence minister Khatib had key role in regime’s ‘repression and terrorist activities’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Following Defense Minister Israel Katz’s announcement, the IDF also confirms that Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, was killed in an airstrike in Iran overnight.
Khatib, who had served as intelligence minister since 2021, was targeted by Israeli Air Force fighter jets in the capital Tehran.
The military says the Intelligence Ministry is “the Iranian terrorist regime’s primary intelligence organization, which also played a key role in supporting the regime’s repression and terrorist activities.”
The ministry “possesses advanced intelligence capabilities, overseeing surveillance, espionage, and the execution of covert operations worldwide, particularly against the State of Israel and Iranian citizens,” the IDF says.
As the intelligence minister, the IDF says 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,” and during protests in 2022-2023 over the killing of Mahsa Amini.
The IDF says Khatib also led the ministry’s “terror activities against Israeli and American targets around the world, as well as activities directed against targets within Israel” during the current war.
The Times of Israel Community.