In a massive escalation of Operation Epic Fury, Israeli airstrikes have killed three of Iran's most powerful figures within 48 hours, including de facto leader Ali Larijani and Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib. The strikes near Tehran and Beirut have decapitated the Islamic Republic's security apparatus, prompting the Kremlin to condemn the 'murders' while global oil markets surge amid threats of immediate Iranian retaliation against Israel.
Israel killed three senior Iranian officials in 48 hours, including Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a strike on March 17, 2026, as the US-Israel war against Iran entered a new phase of targeted leadership eliminations. Iran's state media confirmed Larijani's death, and Iran's Supreme National Security Council stated he died alongside his son Morteza and an aide. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the eliminations of both Larijani and Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib. Larijani, born June 3, 1958, had served as secretary of the council since 2025 and was widely regarded as a central power broker in the Iranian state following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in February 2026. Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the paramilitary Basij force, was also killed in Israeli strikes on March 17, according to the verification log and person registry. Iran threatened revenge, with officials vowing to attack Israel in response to Larijani's killing.
The conflict between Israel and Iran escalated sharply after the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the initial strikes. Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei, was appointed Supreme Leader on March 9, 2026. Ali Larijani had previously served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2005 to 2007 and later as speaker of the Iranian parliament, making him one of the most experienced and influential figures in the Islamic Republic's political structure.
Esmaeil Khatib, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, was killed in an Israeli strike overnight on March 18, 2026, in Beirut, according to Israeli and Iranian media reports cited by Reuters. Khatib, born in 1961, had served as minister since August 2021 and was the eighth official to hold the post, according to the person registry. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the killing. The strike in Beirut marked a geographic expansion of the targeting campaign, reaching beyond Iranian territory. The Ministry of Intelligence is one of the most powerful institutions in the Iranian security apparatus, and Khatib's death represented a significant blow to Iran's intelligence capabilities at a moment of acute national crisis. The series of killings within 48 hours pointed to what ANSA described as a coordinated Israeli targeting network operating across multiple countries.
Iran executes Swedish citizen as tensions reach new front Iran executed a Swedish citizen on March 18, 2026, Sweden's foreign minister confirmed, adding that she had summoned the Iranian ambassador in response. The person registry identifies the Swedish-Iranian individual as Ahmad Reza Djalali, born September 15, 1971, a physician and researcher in disaster medicine who had worked at several European universities including the Karolinska University of Sweden. Iranian authorities announced the execution, which Reuters reported was linked to charges of spying for Israel, according to Iran's Mizan news agency. The European Union condemned the execution as "brutal violence," according to ANSA, and Sweden's Foreign Ministry issued its own condemnation. The execution drew immediate international criticism and added a diplomatic dimension to a conflict already straining relations between Iran and Western governments. The killing of a European citizen deepened the isolation of Tehran at a moment when its senior leadership was being systematically eliminated.
Iran scrambles to reconstitute command as oil markets react The rapid elimination of Larijani, Khatib, and Soleimani within a single 48-hour period left Iran's security and intelligence establishment in a state of acute disruption, with questions mounting over who now holds effective command, according to ANSA's reporting on the regime's reorganization. The conflict has driven a surge in global oil prices and caused disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy supply. Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, appointed only nine days before the latest strikes, faces the challenge of stabilizing a command structure that has lost several of its most experienced figures in rapid succession. Iranian officials publicly threatened to attack Israel in retaliation for Larijani's death, signaling that Tehran intends to continue the conflict despite the losses. The combination of leadership decapitation, an executed foreign national, and energy market disruption illustrated the breadth of consequences flowing from the ongoing war.