Iran confirms killing of intelligence minister Khatib in Israeli strike

The development comes after the deaths of senior figures including Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani in earlier strikes.

The West Asia conflict escalated sharply as Iran launched missiles towards Israel, while Tehran confirmed the killing of its intelligence minister in Israeli strikes, marking the third assassination of a senior Iranian official in two days.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed in an overnight Israeli attack.

The development comes after the deaths of senior figures including Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani in earlier strikes.

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', as per Al Jazeera.

Who was Esmail Khatib

Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim, reporting from the occupied West Bank, said Israeli military analysts regarded Khatib as a trusted figure close to Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

"According to Israeli sources, they said they have been gathering intelligence that allowed them in the past 24 hours to declare the deaths of three senior Iranian officials," Ibrahim said, according to Al Jazeera.

Katz also announced that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given the Israeli military standing authorisation to eliminate other senior Iranian officials in their sights without case-by-case approval.

"This is seen as another success from the Israeli perspective in targeting the Iranian leadership," she said, Al Jazeera reported.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall said, "In terms of his credentials, he 'ticked every box' in Iran, having graduated from the influential seminary in Qom and previously studied under the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei."

"So he was really one of the top clerics, and he even has the title, Proof of Islam, one of the highest titles in the country. He is really well placed, religiously, ideologically and with decades of experience in the circles of intelligence, particularly civilian intelligence," Vall added.

"He's a man whose killing, no doubt about it, will cause a dent to the remaining structure of the regime, the government. So that is what the Israelis are counting on," he concluded.

US offers reward for info on Mojtaba Khamenei

As per Al Jazeera, 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, Al Jazeera reported.

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.

In an interview with Al Jazeera aired after the killing of Larijani was confirmed by Tehran on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States and Israel had yet to realise that Iran's government does not rely on a single individual.

Iran fires missiles towards Israel

Amid the rising tensions, Israel reported that missiles were fired from Iran towards its territory.

In response to earlier strikes on its energy infrastructure, Iran warned it would target 'enemy infrastructure', while its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have hit multiple targets in Tel Aviv.

Israeli jets hit Iran gas facility

Reports also said Israeli fighter jets struck a gas facility in Iran's Bushehr province linked to the South Pars field.

A fire at the facility was later brought under control without casualties, Iranian authorities said.

Qatar condemned the targeting of gas infrastructure and cautioned against further escalation, even as Iran issued evacuation warnings for areas near oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.