Got a Big One: Israel Announces Elimination of Iranian Leader With 'American Blood' on His Hands

If you're an Iranian leader, your chances of survival don't seem to be good right now.

Over the past couple of days, the person some thought was the real power in the country, Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was taken out. So was the head of the internal paramilitary security forces, the Basij, General Gholamreza Soleimani.

The U.S. and Israel took out about 40 leaders in one strike at the beginning of the war, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But there was one guy that they missed who managed to survive that big strike, the intelligence chief, Esmail Khatib.

Biggest Hit Since Khamenei: Iran's 'De Facto Leader' and His Memes Find Out, Basij Commander Also Gone

On Tuesday, they made up for it when they finally caught up to Khatib. Israel announced that it had successfully eliminated him overnight in a precision strike. Khatib was a very important target.

Khatib was “responsible for the regime’s internal repression and assassination apparatus, as well as for advancing external threats,” Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

NEW: A top Iranian leader who targeted current and former U.S. officials, including President Trump, was killed in a precision strike, Israel confirms.

Esmaeil Khatib was responsible for overseeing Iran’s entire global terror apparatus, including sleeper cells in locations… pic.twitter.com/liZ0tUfhdk
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) March 18, 2026

A senior Israeli official told Fox:

Khatib was responsible for overseeing Iran’s entire global terror apparatus, including sleeper cells in locations around the world. His targeting was a joint U.S.-Israeli effort on the intelligence front.
“This man had American blood on his hands. His network specifically targeted current and former U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump,” the official added.

Khatib had been part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the judiciary, and he was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 over alleged cyber operations targeting Washington and its allies

The U.S. government had been offering a $10 million reward for information on Khatib, which shows you how important they viewed him as a target. Sounds like a lot of justice is finally catching up with Khatib.

Katz also teased that there would be more "surprises" coming.

In a 2024 interview, Khatib was asked which intelligence operations he was most proud of. Khatib said his most significant achievement was dismantling the Mossad infiltration network.

Esmail Khatib, the regime's outgoing Minister of Intelligence - six days ago:

"Dismantling the Mossad's infiltration network in Iran was the greatest achievement during my tenure"

Lol pic.twitter.com/yXcCJZdWl3
— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 🇮🇷 ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) July 31, 2024

Looks like he spoke too soon. Something tells me he didn't do a particularly good job at that, and he might not have gotten them all.

But hey, they still have Cardboard Mojtaba Khamenei, who no one has seen. I'm sure that reassures them.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

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