Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, expressed his condolences on the killing of Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in a message to President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to Iranian state media Press TV, as reported by ANI.

Khamenei said, “Undoubtedly, their absence must be compensated by the redoubled efforts of other officials and employees of that sensitive ministry, and security must be wrested from internal and external enemies and bestowed upon the general public of our compatriots.”