‘Significant surprises’ incoming: Israel targets Iran’s intelligence leadership in overnight strike

Mar 18, 2026, 11:56 AM

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‘Significant surprises’ incoming: Israel targets Iran’s intelligence leadership in overnight strike

Israel Katz, Defense Minister, says that Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran overnight, adding that “significant surprises” are expected today.

“On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he says during a security assessment, according to remarks provided by his office.

“The intensity of the strikes in Iran is increasing. The Iranian intelligence minister Khatib was also eliminated overnight,” he says.

Katz says that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have “authorized the IDF to [eliminate] any senior Iranian figure… without the need for additional approval.”

Ashley Miller

Business & Markets Reporter