Supreme Leader Breaks Silence After Top Miner Killed in Israeli Strike

2 min readUpdated: Mar 20, 2026 03:25 PM Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has issued a message of condolence to President Masoud Pezeshkian following the killing of Intelligence Miner Esmail Khatib earlier this week in an Israeli strike.
According to an Al Jazeera report which cited a statement carried Tasnim News Agency, Khamenei paid tribute to Khatib, describing him as a “hardworking miner of intelligence.”
In his message, the supreme leader stressed the need for officials to intensify efforts to address the gap left Khatib’s death. He called on the intelligence minry to continue its work in maintaining national security.
Khamenei also urged vigilance against what he described as “internal and external enemies,” emphasising the importance of sustained security operations following the miner’s killing.
Amid rising tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, Israeli Defence Miner Israel Katz had on Wednesday confirmed that Khatib was killed in an overnight strike carried out on Tuesday.

As reported Al Jazeera, Katz said the conflict would pers on multiple fronts, including operations targeting Iran and the group Hezbollah. The statement also warned of intensified hostilities and hinted at further “surprises.”
Esmail Khatib tenure
Khatib took office as Iran’s intelligence miner in 2021 during the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi. Over the course of his career, he held several senior roles within the intelligence minry as well as in the Office of the Supreme Leader. He was also known to have studied Islamic jurisprudence.Story continues below this ad
In 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Khatib, citing his leadership of Iran’s intelligence minry and alleging involvement in cyber-enabled activities targeting the United States and its allies.
According to BBC, Khatib joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1980, shortly after the Iranian Revolution.
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