The intelligence minister is the latest in a series of Iranian leaders killed by Israel.
In a statement on X, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that Khatib was killed in what he describes as "cowardly murders of my dear colleagues" and also mentioned security chief Ali Larijani and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, who were killed in previous attacks.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given the military the authority to kill virtually all "senior Iranian representatives" without the need for further approval, The Times of Israel reports.
“We will continue to stop and prosecute them all,” the statement continues.
Iranian revenge
More "significant surprises" that will escalate both the war with Iran and the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon are expected on Wednesday, according to Katz.
Overnight, Iran also fired several salvos at Israel, killing a couple in their 70s in Tel Aviv, after threatening to avenge Larijani, who was killed by Israel on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the paramilitary Basij militia, who was also killed on Tuesday, will be buried.
Iranian media reported that the US and Israel struck several parts of the country, including the capital, Tehran, in a series of attacks on Wednesday.
More attacks in the region
According to the state news agency Tasnim, seven people were killed and about 50 were injured when a residential area was hit in the city of Dorud. The death toll has not yet been confirmed. In Larestan in southern Iran, a courthouse was reportedly hit, causing an unknown number of casualties.
Explosions have also been heard in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. In Saudi Arabia, anti-aircraft missiles were fired.
There are also reports of drone attacks targeting the US embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, as well as explosions in the Kurdish city of Erbil.
