Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed that Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike in Tehran. This high-profile assassination occurred just one day after the death of Ali Larijani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a central figure in the country’s wartime strategy. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the strikes signify a new level of intensity, asserting that no one in the Iranian leadership has immunity. These decapitation strikes follow the reported death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in late February, leaving a significant power vacuum as his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, moves to consolidate control over the Islamic Republic.
Israel says it has killed Iran’s intelligence minister in overnight strike https://t.co/foCehvYOXC
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 18, 2026
Simultaneously, the conflict has widened as Israel launched intense bombardments on central Beirut, leveling a residential building in a district usually considered safe. In response to the loss of its top officials, Iran and its allied militias launched over 100 missiles and drones across the Middle East, resulting in two deaths in Israel and reports of interceptions in several Gulf nations. To counter these threats, the U.S. military employed 5,000-pound “bunker-buster” bombs against hardened Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic waterway remains effectively blocked, severely disrupting global oil transit. Iranian officials have warned that the situation in the strait will not return to its pre-war state, even as U.S. President Donald Trump expressed confidence that the coast would soon be secured.
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