Iran condemns Israel for killing Hezbollah military chief

Tehran (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Iran on Monday blasted Israel over its killing of Hezbollah’s military chief, a day after the military leader was targeted with a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Since the ceasefire, Israel has bombed Lebanon several times, primarily claiming to be attacking infrastructure and Hezbollah members. Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s top military commander, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon’s capital, the organisation confirmed a day earlier.

“The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemns the cowardly assassination of the great commander of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, the martyr Haytham Ali Tabatabai,”

the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The killing “constitutes a flagrant violation of the November 2024 ceasefire and a brutal breach of Lebanon’s national sovereignty”,

the Iranian foreign ministry said.

What damage did the Beirut apartment strike reportedly cause?

At least five people were killed in Sunday’s attack on an apartment complex in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh in southern Beirut, including Tabatabai, the chief of staff of the group’s armed wing, Al Jazeera reported.

The Israeli attack also injured 28 people, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. According to the official National News Agency (NNA) of Lebanon, two missiles were fired at the apartment complex on al-Arid Street in Haret Hreik, causing serious damage to nearby buildings and automobiles.

What role did Haytham Ali Tabatabai play in Hezbollah?

Since a ceasefire began in November 2024, Tabatabai was the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel.

He was hailed as a “great Jihadi commander” by Hezbollah. According to the statement, Tabatabai

“was among the leaders who laid the foundation”

and

“dedicated his life to the resistance.”

Tabatabai was one of the new commanders selected to lead the group following the war, but he was largely unknown to the Lebanese public.

Mahmoud Qmati, a senior Hezbollah official, had previously stated that the group’s leadership was debating whether to retaliate after Israel’s strike crossed a “red line.”

He declared,

“Today’s attack on the southern suburbs opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon.”

Israel also killed other prominent figures in the past; for instance, Hezbollah’s longtime secretary-general and leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, 2024. 

What past assassinations has Israel carried out against Hezbollah?

Nasrallah and senior Hezbollah commanders were meeting in an underground bunker at Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut’s Dahieh suburb when the strike occurred. At least 33 people were killed in the attack, which featured over 80 bombs dropped by the Israeli Air Force. The incident dramatically impacted Hezbollah’s structure and was followed by regional tensions and retaliation in the Middle East.