Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on 18 March confirmed the death of the country’s Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib, previously reported by Israeli authorities.
“The cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues Ismail Khatib, Ali Larijani and Aziz Nasirzadeh, as well as some members of their families and escort team, has left us shattered,” he said.
Pezeshkian expressed condolences to the people of Iran through the “martyrdom” of two members of the government, the secretary of the People’s Assembly, and the military and commanders of the Basij formation.
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Earlier, the White House said that Khatib’s death is a “good sign” for the United States. On the morning of 18 March, US President Donald Trump’s press secretary Caroline Leavitt called Khatib a “known terrorist” on Fox News Channel.
“Of course, this man is no longer with us on this earth. And that’s good for the United States. It’s good for the American people who have long been threatened by this criminal terrorist regime,” she said.
On the afternoon of March 18, Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz said that Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib was killed in Tehran in an Israeli airstrike.
Katz added that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “authorised the IDF (to kill) any high-ranking Iranian official… Without the need for further permission.”
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Tehran has previously informed about the deaths of its other leaders, notably Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, with some delay.
The joint United States-Israeli operation against Iran began on 28 February and resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a significant number of other senior Iranian regime officials.
Iran’s military has attacked with missiles and drones not only Israel or US military installations in the region, but also many of its regional neighbours, which Tehran considers allies of the United States.
Iran’s president confirmed the death of the intelligence minister due to the Israeli attack