JUST IN: Iranian Official Who Tried To Kill Trump Obliterated In Airstrike

Israel killed Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, in an overnight precision strike, a senior Israeli official told Fox News on Wednesday, calling him a central figure in plots targeting Americans as the U.S.-Israeli campaign presses deeper into Tehran’s power structure.

The official said the hit was enabled by a joint U.S.-Israeli intelligence effort and portrayed Khatib as a key operator inside the regime’s security apparatus.

“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 survived an earlier strike during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, when more than 40 Iranian leaders were killed at a “Defense Council” compound in Tehran, according to the official. The official said Khatib was the only person to make it out alive.

“Today, he met the fate of his combatant comrades,” the official told Fox News.

Israel has targeted and killed multiple senior Iranian figures since the war began, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Gen. Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Basij unit, and Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Israel Defense Forces have also accused Khatib of playing a central role in the regime’s crackdowns on protests, including arrests and killings during unrest and the demonstrations that erupted nationwide after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of Iran’s morality police.

RELATED: JUST IN: Iran’s De Facto Leader Killed In Israeli Airstrike

In Washington, Khatib was already on the radar. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned him in 2022 for his leadership role at Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which U.S. officials said was responsible for cyberattacks targeting the United States and allied countries. Treasury also said the ministry oversaw global cyber operations aimed at government and private-sector organizations, including disruptive attacks on critical infrastructure.

RELATED: REPORT: US-Israeli Strikes Liquidate Top Iranian Commander

United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonpartisan advocacy group, has said Khatib enlisted in the IRGC at the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980 and later studied under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. The group said Khatib joined the Ministry of Intelligence and Security in 1985 or 1986, after the agency was established in 1983.

The strike comes as pressure builds on Iran’s security networks abroad as well. The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program last week offered up to $10 million for information on senior Iranian security figures tied to the IRGC and its networks, including Khatib.

Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>