Wednesday 18 / March / 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed in a post on X that the country's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib had been killed.
Israel said earlier it had "eliminated" Khatib, with the Iranian regime also now acknowledging it.
Russia's Kremlin condemns killing of Iranian leaders
The Kremlin has condemned the killing of top Iranian officials in US-Israeli airstrikes, a day after Iran confirmed the death of security chief Ali Larijani in an attack in Tehran.
"We unequivocally condemn any actions aimed at harming the health of, or indeed murdering or eliminating, members of the leadership of sovereign and independent Iran, as well as those of other countries," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
" We condemn such actions," Peskov added.
A number of Iranian leaders and military commanders, including the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been killed in strikes by US or Israeli forces since the two countries launched their joint assault on Iran on February 28.
On Wednesday, Israel's defense minister Israel Katz claimed that his country's forces had also killed Iran's Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib a day earlier.
Russia has strongly criticized the US-Israeli air strikes against Iran, a close partner, and has called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations.
