By Tom Ozimek
Israel said it killed Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, in an overnight airstrike in Tehran, stating that his death marks a major setback to the Iranian regime’s command structures and warning that its campaign against senior Iranian officials will continue.
The Israeli military said in a March 18 statement that Khatib, as head of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, oversaw surveillance, espionage, and covert operations, including activities directed against Israel, U.S. targets around the world, and anti-regime Iranian protesters.
“As the Intelligence Minister, Khatib played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, both with regards to the arrest and killing of protestors as well as shaping the regime’s intelligence assessment,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The killing of Khatib, which has not been confirmed by Iran, follows a series of Israeli strikes targeting senior Iranian figures, including security chief Ali Larijani and Basij militia head Gholamreza Soleimani, as the conflict intensifies alongside Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region.
Iran launched strikes early on March 18 toward Israel and neighboring Gulf states, with explosions reported in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and air defenses intercepting threats in Saudi Arabia. The attacks followed confirmation by Iranian state media that Israeli strikes had killed Larijani and Soleimani in separate operations.
Ongoing Campaign Against Top Iranian Officials
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March 18 that Khatib had been “eliminated” in a targeted strike, adding that Israel would continue pursuing senior Iranian officials deemed responsible for threats against the country.
Katz also said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorized the military to carry out further strikes on high-ranking Iranian figures without requiring additional political approval, signaling a continuation of Israel’s current operational tempo.
The Israeli military said the strike targeting Khatib was carried out by the Israeli Air Force based on intelligence gathered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“His elimination joins dozens of other eliminations of senior commanders of the Iranian terrorist regime throughout the operation, including senior figures in the Ministry of Intelligence, and significantly degrades the regime’s command and control structures,” the IDF said in a statement.
Before his appointment as head of the Ministry of Intelligence in 2021, Khatib held several major roles within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), mostly in intelligence.
Regional Tensions, Retaliatory Strikes
The strike comes amid a broader cycle of attacks as the war on Iran entered its third week, with no signs of an immediate end to the fighting.
In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes have increasingly targeted areas beyond Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs. A strike on an apartment building in central Beirut earlier on March 18 flattened the structure, while earlier attacks in nearby neighborhoods killed at least six people and wounded dozens, according to Lebanese health authorities.
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on March 16 that he believes the military operation could be “wrapped up soon,” but added that it is unlikely to end within the week. Trump said he had an obligation to act to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, saying that the operation stopped Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and averted “a nuclear war that would have evolved into World War III.”
The war has had a major impact on shipping, with Iran effectively blocking the passage of most oil tankers and other vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil transits.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on March 16 that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to the United States and Israel, as well as their allies, but would remain open to other countries.
Marine traffic data from March 17 showed that shipping activity in the vital energy corridor remained limited, with a total of 15 vessels allowed through over the past 48 hours, according to MarineTraffic, which noted in a post on X that many vessels were taking “unusual routes” through Iranian territorial waters.
Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS Risk Group, said in a March 18 post on X that the reason for the unusual routing remains unclear, adding it could be due to the potential setting of mines in the strait by Iranian forces.
“Permission to exit the Gulf is likely negotiated between the governments of Iran and the governments of the shipping companies,” Kelly wrote, adding that the ships may have been given a “mine avoidance route.”
“At least India and Pakistan have secured the release of their ships, 1 Pakistan, 1 Indian, with 2 more Indian ships scheduled to leave soon. Two Greek owned ships have exited but are carrying Iranian cargo probably to East Asia.”
Trump has called on countries that rely heavily on the Strait of Hormuz to join the United States in patrolling the shipping route.
The U.S. military said on March 17 it struck hardened Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz using 5,000-pound bunker-buster munitions, targeting coastal anti-ship missiles seen as a threat to shipping through the key transport corridor.
