Iranian intelligence minister killed in overnight Israeli strike just days after another top official hit

Iran has not confirmed the death of Khatib.

This comes after an Israeli strike killed Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, one of the country's most experienced policymakers, with state media confirming his death on Tuesday.

Mr Katz said that he and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu, had given orders to the military to kill any other senior Iranian politician, without needing approval.

Khatib was one of the Iranian officials that the US were seeking further information on, with a reward of up to $10million.

The US's reward named 10 figures linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as security chief Larijani - now dead - and the country's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who hasn't been seen in public for a while.

Esmaeil Khatib was appointed as Minister of Intelligence by the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2021, after holding several strategic positions in the IRCG.

He oversaw the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, which is the primary organisation behind the regime's "repression and terror", the statement IDF wrote.

The IDF said Khatib played a "significant role in directing arrests and the killing of protesters during the recent internal protests in Iran and during the 'Hijab Protests'" in 2022-23.

It is understood that Khatib was a close ally of the late Supreme Leader and was a supporter of Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

This latest strike against the Iranian political elite, has meant the combined Israeli-US effort has taken out 17 key figures of the Islamic Regime.

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