The Iranian intelligence minister has been killed in an overnight Israeli strike just days after another top official of the Islamic Republic was taken out.
Esmaeil Khatib, the Iranian intelligence minister, was "eliminated" in a strike overnight, the Israeli Defence minister, Israel Katz, announced on Wednesday morning.
The Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, confirmed the death of Khatib on a post on X.
He wrote on Wednesday afternoon: "The cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues Ismail Khatib, Ali Larijani, and Aziz Nasirzadeh, alongside some of their family members and accompanying team, has left us in deep mourning.
"I extend my condolences to the great people of Iran for the martyrdom of two cabinet members, the secretary of the Shura, and the military and Basij commanders.
"I am certain their path will continue more steadfastly than before."
This comes after an Israeli strike killed Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, one of the country's most experienced policymakers, with state media confirming his death on Tuesday.
Mr Katz said that he and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had given orders to the military to kill any other senior Iranian politician, without needing approval.
Esmaeil Khatib (centre) was killed in an overnight strike, Israel's Defence minister has confirmed
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Khatib was one of the Iranian officials that the US were seeking further information on, with a reward of up to $10million.
The US's reward named 10 figures linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as security chief Larijani - now dead - and the country's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who hasn't been seen in public for a while.
Esmaeil Khatib was appointed as Minister of Intelligence by the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2021, after holding several strategic positions in the IRCG.
He oversaw the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, which is the primary organisation behind the regime's "repression and terror", the statement IDF wrote.
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Ali Larijani was confirmed dead by Iranian state media on Tuesday, making him the most senior figure assassinated since Ayatollah Khamenei
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The IDF said Khatib played a "significant role in directing arrests and the killing of protesters during the recent internal protests in Iran and during the 'Hijab Protests'" in 2022-23.
It is understood that Khatib was a close ally of the late Supreme Leader and was a supporter of Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
This latest strike against the Iranian political elite, has meant the combined Israeli-US effort has taken out 17 key figures of the Islamic regime.
As the Iranian conflict enters its 19th day, energy sites across the region are being evacuated as the Islamic State said they would strike in a matter of "hours".
On energy, the price of oil increased by more than five per cent to $108 a barrel on Wednesday, with Iran ordering their nationals to leave the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar ahead of further strikes, according to state media.
In Saudi Arabia, oil giant Aramco have reportedly begun evacuating its oil facilities.
According to Bloomberg, they have started removing staff from its Samref and Jubail sites.
The Samref facility can produce up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day and has not been impacted by the conflict yet.
Seventy-eight per cent of Iran's detected strikes have been targeted at Gulf nations.
Israel, Palestinian territories, the UAE, Saudia Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Azerbaijan have all be struck.
As of March 16, the UAE has been the Islamic State's hardest hit, having 1,946 projectiles fired at them - 41 per cent of Iran's Gulf strikes, the Times reports.
Coming in second is Israel with 840 projectiles launched at them, shortly followed by Kuwait, with 720.