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TEHRAN \u2013 Ali Akbar Velayati, Senior Advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on International Affairs, said Israel\u2019s latest attacks on Lebanon demonstrate more clearly than ever the vital role of Hezbollah in safeguarding the country\u2019s security and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Monday, Velayati condemned Israel\u2019s repeated violations of the November 2024 ceasefire and its widening strikes on Lebanese territory, warning that the regime\u2019s conduct shows that \u201cfor Lebanon, the existence of Hezbollah is more essential than daily bread.\u201d<\/p>\n
Velayati\u2019s remarks came after Israel carried out a heavy airstrike on Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs on Sunday, assassinating Hajj Haitham Ali Tabatabai, one of Hezbollah\u2019s most senior and influential commanders. The attack marked the most serious Israeli breach of the ceasefire to date and the first time since the agreement that Israeli warplanes have struck the Lebanese capital.<\/p>\n
He said the assassination\u2014conducted in the heart of a densely populated civilian area\u2014was a \u201cflagrant violation of Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty\u201d and further proof that Israel \u201crespects no international obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arab media described the attack as \u201ctreacherous,\u201d noting that it hit residential buildings, killed at least five people, and injured 28 others. Scenes from the aftermath showed shocked residents, some covered in blood, fleeing damaged homes.<\/p>\n
According to Velayati, Israel\u2019s strategy of targeted killings aims to create fear and advance its \u201cillegitimate objectives,\u201d but Lebanon has repeatedly demonstrated its resolve. He said the assassination of a figure of Tabatabai\u2019s stature has only strengthened the Lebanese people\u2019s understanding of the role played by the Resistance.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that Israel\u2019s violation of the ceasefire \u201cproved to everyone\u201d what disarming Hezbollah would mean for Lebanon: \u201cIsrael has shown that without the Resistance, Lebanon would be defenseless in the face of aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tabatabai served as Hezbollah\u2019s chief of staff following the deaths of senior commanders last year. As one of the group\u2019s early founders, he played a decisive role in forming Hezbollah\u2019s military structure, ideological development, and resistance strategy. His assassination represents a major loss for the movement but also highlights, in Velayati\u2019s view, \u201cthe depth of Israel\u2019s fear of the Resistance\u2019s capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) strongly condemned the assassination, calling it a \u201ccowardly terrorist crime\u201d that exposes Israel\u2019s \u201cweakness\u201d when confronted by the Resistance Axis.<\/p>\n
In a statement Monday, the IRGC said the Zionist regime targeted \u201cone of Hezbollah\u2019s steadfast commanders,\u201d adding that such crimes will not hinder the progress of the Resistance.<\/p>\n
Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, also expressed condolences on X, saying that while the martyrs \u201cfulfilled their duties,\u201d Netanyahu \u201ccontinues his adventurism to make clear that confronting this illegitimate entity is the only path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry likewise condemned the attack as a \u201cgross violation\u201d of the ceasefire and a \u201cbrutal assault on Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty,\u201d stressing the need to hold Israeli leaders accountable for war crimes.<\/p>\n
Velayati said Hezbollah has repeatedly defended and rescued the Lebanese people from Israeli aggression while forcing \u201cthe occupying regime\u201d to retreat from its objectives. Given Israel\u2019s \u201cappetite for killing and plundering,\u201d he said, the Resistance\u2019s presence is \u201cmore vital for Lebanon today than food and water.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the positions taken by Lebanese officials in the past 24 hours indicate that the government in Beirut increasingly recognizes this reality and rejects what he described as the \u201cempty rhetoric\u201d of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
The strike on Beirut comes as some external powers and Lebanese political groups have spent a year promoting the idea that Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament would bring calm. However, Sunday\u2019s attack has decisively undercut that notion.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n