Israeli Attempt to Assassinate Iranian Intelligence Minister

SadaNews - Channel 12 reported an Israeli official stating that Israeli forces attempted to assassinate the Iranian Minister of Intelligence and are awaiting the results of the operation, while former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for the need to continue military strikes against Iran.

Ismail al-Khatib is considered the top official of the Ministry of Intelligence, which is the most powerful civil security agency in Iran and a historical rival to the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence agency.

He is known for his closeness to the office of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which paved the way for his participation in establishing the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence services in 1980.

He took over the Ministry of Intelligence during the presidency of Ibrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 20, 2024. He was nominated for the same position by President Masoud Bezhakian and gained the trust of the parliament.

The U.S. accuses him of overseeing international operations targeting dissidents and facilities, in addition to the central role of his ministry in dealing with internal protests; the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on him in 2022 for conducting cyber activities against the United States and its European allies.

Lieberman stated in comments published on Wednesday that "as long as we have the ability, we should not take our feet off the gas pedal, let's do it, and we must continue to strike Iran until the regime is overthrown, because anyone who remains among them will seek revenge on us."

The Israeli occupation army confirmed the completion of a wide wave of attacks in Tehran, targeting command centers and sites belonging to the ballistic missile system and military infrastructure of the Iranian regime.

In this context, the Iranian agency "Tasnim" reported that seven people were killed and 56 others injured in an "American-Israeli" attack that targeted residential areas in Lorestan Province (western Iran).

The agency quoted the security affairs assistant of Lorestan Province stating that the attack targeted densely populated residential areas in the city of "Doroud" in the province.

This escalation comes hours after similar raids targeted the capital Tehran, where the "Mehr" agency documented significant damage to buildings and residential apartments in the north and west of the city, while civil defense teams began removing debris from major roads.

For its part, the Israeli occupation army confirmed the completion of a wide wave of attacks in Tehran, targeting command centers and sites belonging to the ballistic missile system and military infrastructure of the Iranian regime.