Iran confirms killing of Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib by Israel

Iran's intelligence minister Esmail Khatib has been killed, the country's president has confirmed.

Masoud Pezeshkian said the "cowardly assassination" had left Iran "in deep mourning", after Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Khatib in an air strike.

It comes a day after Israel announced it had killed Iran's top security official, Ali Larijani, and head of the paramilitary Basij force, Gholamreza Soleimani, in strikes.

Since the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war on February 28, 2026, multiple senior Iranian officials and commanders have been killed in efforts by Israel and the US to weaken the regime's leadership.

The announcement on Wednesday comes hours after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed the Iranian minister had been killed.

Pezeshkian condemned the "cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues," saying they "left us heartbroken".

In a post on X, he added that their "path will continue stronger than before".

Israeli military analysts regarded Khatib as a trusted figure close to Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

The US Department of State offered a $10m reward on Friday for information about Iran's new supreme leader and other top officials, including Khatib.

A funeral ceremony for Larijani and Soleimani was held in Tehran on Wednesday, according to Press TV, as officials and mourners gathered to honour the two figures.

Larijani had been one of Iran's most influential political operators, having previously led its nuclear negotiations with the West and served as speaker of parliament.