Shafaq News – Tehran

Israel will face a “crushing response” following the killing of senior Hezbollah commander Haitham Ali Tabatabai, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on Monday.

An Israeli strike on November 23 targeted a residential apartment in Haret Hreik, in Beirut’s southern suburbs (Dahiyeh), killing five people, including Tabatabai, and injuring 28 others — adding to more than 5,000 violations since the November 27, 2024, ceasefire, according to Lebanese authorities.

Read more: Who is Haytham Ali Tabatabai? Inside the life of Hezbollah’s elusive commander

In a statement carried by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC condemned the strike as a cowardly act that reflects Israel’s “weakness and desperation.”

The assassination, the IRGC said, will not diminish Hezbollah’s capabilities or those of the wider “Axis of Resistance,” (a coalition of Iran-backed groups), adding that the group reserves the right to retaliate. “Israel should expect a decisive response at a time of our choosing.”