Wednesday, March 18th saw the Israeli defense minister announce that Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib was killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on Tehran.
Speaking at a security briefing, Israel Katz said
On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The intensity of the strikes in Iran is increasing. The Iranian intelligence minister Khatib was also eliminated overnight.
Katz also confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces IDF are now authorized to target senior Iranian figures “without the need for additional approval.”
The strikes follow Israel’s claim that it killed Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani. Funerals for Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force, are being held in Tehran, according to Iran’s Fars and Tasnim news agencies. Iranian authorities have vowed revenge for the deaths.
