Iran’s then Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib (C) sits with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian (CR) as he defends his cabinet selection before delivering a speech to parliament members in the capital Tehran on August 17, 2024.
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Israel’s Defense Forces said on Wednesday that Iran’s Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib was killed in a “targeted attack” in Tehran, the third killing of a high-ranking official in just two days.
The IDF said, “Khatib played a key role during the recent protests across Iran, including the arrest and killing of protesters, and led terrorist activities against Israelis and Americans around the world.” Said In a post on social media.
“Similarly, they took action against Iranian citizens during the Mahsa Amini protests (2022-2023),” he said.
Iran has not yet commented on the news of Khatib’s death.
It comes after Israel said on Tuesday that Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij forces, were both killed. Iran’s official Judiciary News Agency later confirmed Soleimani’s killing, the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issued a statement confirming that Larijani was killed “along with his son Morteza Larijani and the head of his office, Alireza Bayat, as well as several guards.”
The IDF said Khatib was appointed to his post in 2021 by Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in strikes targeting high-ranking Iranian officials on February 28 at the start of the war.
Iran then retaliated by attacking its Gulf neighbors and targeting ships trying to pass through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
The war with Israel led by America and Israel against Iran entered the 19th day on Wednesday launch A series of attacks on Lebanon’s capital Beirut continue as Tehran continues its offensive against the terrorist group Hezbollah.
Iran and its allied military groups have launched a series of retaliatory attacks across the Middle East, raising fears of a wider regional crisis.