A rare overnight operation reportedly targeted Tehran and sparked urgent diplomatic alarm. Details remain contested as officials and analysts react to the potential escalation.<\/p>\n
The information about this was published on the IDF\u2019s social media. The Israel Defense Forces said that on the night of March 18, the Israeli Air Force conducted a targeted strike on Tehran, the capital of Iran, in which the country\u2019s Minister of Intelligence Esma\u2019il Hatib was allegedly killed.<\/p>\n
According to the Israeli side, the operation was carried out based on previously obtained intelligence. In the IDF statement, Hatib headed Iran\u2019s Ministry of Intelligence \u2013 a key agency responsible for intelligence activities, internal security, and operations abroad.<\/p>\n
Hatib was appointed to the post of minister in 2021 by Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Israeli side claims that he played a significant role in suppressing protests in Iran, particularly during the mass demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022\u20132023.<\/p>\n
Israel also says that under Hatib\u2019s leadership, Iranian intelligence conducted operations against Israeli and American targets around the world.<\/p>\n
Military operation by Israel and the United States against Iran<\/p>\n
On February 28, Israel attacked Tehran, the Iranian capital. Subsequently, U.S. President Donald Trump said that American forces had begun \u201ca major combat operation\u201d against Iran with the aim of \u201celiminating the imminent threats from the Iranian regime.\u201d He accused the Iranian authorities of \u201cfinancing and training\u201d militants in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Hamas in Palestine. According to him, the goal of the operation is \u201cthe destruction of Iran\u2019s missile industry and fleet,\u201d as well as \u201cto ensure the impossibility of destabilizing the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201ca major combat operation\u201d against Iran with the aim of \u201celiminating the imminent threats posed by the Iranian regime\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
KVIR said it launched rockets and drones toward Israel, and also attacked American bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
Against this backdrop, French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. The European Union said it confirms its \u201cunwavering commitment to ensuring regional security and stability\u201d in the Middle East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it is fair to give the Iranians a chance to rid themselves of the \u201cterrorist regime\u201d and guarantee the safety of all people who have suffered from attacks from Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cfinancing and training\u201d of militants in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Hamas in Palestine<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
\u201cdestroying Iran\u2019s missile industry and fleet\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
\u201cto ensure that the world cannot be destabilized\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
On March 2, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the next phase of the U.S. military operation against Iran would be even more destructive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A rare overnight operation reportedly targeted Tehran and sparked urgent diplomatic alarm. Details remain contested as officials and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[11995,12089,34,6185,12090,12088,42,69,12091],"class_list":["post-25167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tehran","tag-esmail-khatib","tag-idf-statement","tag-iran","tag-iran-israel-tensions","tag-israel-airstrike","tag-israel-airstrike-tehran-strike-esmail-khatib-idf-statement-iran-israel-tensions","tag-news","tag-tehran","tag-tehran-strike"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116250740209033397","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}