Israel has killed Esmaeil Khatib, Iran's intelligence minister, in an overnight airstrike, the Israeli military confirmed Wednesday. The strike marks the latest high-profile assassination in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iranian leadership. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed Khatib's death, calling it "a cowardly assassination" in a social media post.

Khatib's ministry oversaw "surveillance, espionage, and covert operations worldwide," particularly targeting Israel, according to the Israeli military. The U.S. Treasury Department previously sanctioned Khatib in 2022 for cyber espionage and ransomware attacks supporting Iran's political goals. He also played a central role in crushing anti-government protests and led terrorist activities against Israeli and American targets globally.

The killing follows the airstrike that eliminated Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war. Khatib, appointed in 2021, previously held key positions in Iran's Revolutionary Guards and served in the conservative government during the 2022 crackdown on women-led protests following Mahsa Amini's death.