It says Khatib's Ministry of Intelligence played a key role in supporting the regime’s "repression and terrorist activities", and that he himself played a "significant role" in the "arrest and killing of protesters" during a recent crackdown on demonstrations in Iran.
Esmail Khatib was appointed as Iran’s intelligence minister by the late former president, Ebrahim Raisi, back in 2021.
He studied Islamic jurisprudence under multiple high-ranking clerics, including Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He has held senior posts in the ministry of intelligence and the Office of the Supreme Leader.
He was sanctioned by the US Treasury for his role as head of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence “for engaging in cyber-enabled activities against the United States and its allies” in 2022.
Khatib is reported to have joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980, shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"His elimination joins dozens of other eliminations of senior commanders of the Iranian terrorist regime... and significantly degrades the regime’s command and control structures," the IDF adds.Iran has not yet commented on reports of Khatib's death.
Beirut: Israel launched strikes on the centre of the Lebanese capital overnight, killing at least ten people and injuring 27, according to the health ministry.
Elsewhere in Lebanon: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation order for southern Lebanon. It later said it would attack crossings over the Litani river this afternoon.
Iran: Iranian media reported that a petrochemical complex on the South Pars gas field had been hit. Separately, Israel said it had killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in a strike on Tehran. There was no immediate confirmation from Iran.
Strait of Hormuz: The US military reported it has struck Iranian missile sites along the key oil shipping channel, where numerous vessels have been attacked since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia: All said they had responded to attacks this morning, including Saudi Arabia, which announced it had shot down two drones heading for its embassy district. Air alerts were also triggered in Bahrain.
Iraq: Footage authenticated by BBC Verify shows what appears to be a blast near the US embassy in Baghdad. Reuters reported that the complex was hit by a drone.
Israel: Strikes killed two people in their 70s in a city near Tel Aviv. More recently, the IDF said Iran had launched missiles towards Israel.