Esmaeil Khatib | |
|---|---|
اسماعیل خطیب | |
_2.jpg) Khatib in 2024 | |
| Minister of Intelligence | |
| Assumed office 25 August 2021 | |
| President | Ebrahim Raisi Mohammad Mokhber (acting) Masoud Pezeshkian |
| Preceded by | Mahmoud Alavi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1961 (age 63–64) |
| Occupation | Cleric |
Esmaeil Khatib (born 1961) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has been theMinister of Intelligence since August 2021. He is the eighth official to hold the post.
Khatib was born inQaen,South Khorasan, in 1961.[1][2] He studied Islamic jurisprudence inQom.[3] He was a pupil of leading figures such asAli Khamenei,Mohammad Fazel Lankarani,Naser Makarem Shirazi andMojtaba Tehrani.[4]
Khatib has the title ofHujjat al-Islam, meaning proof of Islam in English.[3] Previous posts of Khatib included the head of the Information Protection Center of the Judiciary and the head of Astan Quds Razavi Security.[2] He also worked in theOffice of theSupreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as Iran's chief warden, and in theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence department and the Ministry of Intelligence.[4][2]
In 1985, Khatib was assigned to the intelligence unit of the IRGC byMohsen Rezaei, the first commander-in-chief of the corps.[1] Khatib was in the post until 1991.[1] During the tenure of the Minister of Intelligence,Ali Fallahian, Khatib was appointed head of the ministry's regional branch in Qom in 1999.[1][4] Khatib was appointed chief warden in theOffice of Supreme Leader in 2010.[1]
Khatib was nominated as the minister of intelligence to thecabinet ofIranian PresidentEbrahim Raisi and was confirmed by the Majlis on 25 August 2021.[4] He received 222 votes in favor.[5] Khatib replacedMahmoud Alavi in the post.[4]
During the summer of 2023, senior security and intelligence officials, including Khatib, met in Mashhad to create a coordinated strategy to counter the "coherent and extensive" planning by the West to undermine national stability and purpose.[6]
Khatib is one of Ali Khamenei's close allies and was also a supporter ofAyatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.[4] He has close connections with other significant religious figures in Iran, mostly his teachers.[4]
Media related toEsmaeil Khatib at Wikimedia Commons.jpg)
