Before some analysts in the West rush to rebrand him as a “moderate” or a “pragmatist,” it is important to establish who Esmail Khatib actually was. I speak not as an observer, but as someone who has been arrested and interrogated by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and who has spent years documenting the testimonies of families whose loved ones were detained, tortured, or killed by this same institution. Khatib served as Islamic Republic of Iran’s Minister of Intelligence, an agency that has long been at the center of the state’s internal security apparatus. Human rights organizations have repeatedly documented its role in arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, coerced confessions, and the suppression of peaceful dissent. During his tenure, nationwide protests, particularly the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, were met with mass arrests and mass killings. More than 700 unarmed people were killed including teenagers Nika and Sarina. 💔The Ministry of Intelligence played a key role in identifying protesters, targeting activists, and pressuring families into silence. Yes, he was the one who ordered the arrest of the mothers of those who were killed. Some of these mothers told me how they were humiliated and interrogated by the Ministry of Intelligence simply for mourning their children. He put the fathers of those who were executed in prison for the “crime” of speaking out and demanding justice. Ask any Iranian who has dared to raise their voice for freedom about him and his ministry. They will tell you how much we have suffered. And this is not just inside Iran. Five individuals are currently in prison in the United States for plotting to kill me on the orders of the same intelligence apparatus. So no, there is no moderation here. There is no reform. He was part of a system that expanded terror beyond Iran’s borders and crushed its own people at home. Removing terrorists is not a tragedy. It’s a sign of justice or for their victims.
