Hezbollah Vows Retaliation: Why Israel's Beirut Assassination Raises Stakes

Speaking at the memorial ceremony for Tabtabai and other slain Hezbollah members on Friday, Qassem called the killing "blatant aggression and a crime," stating that Hezbollah's right to respond is "established" and that the group "will determine the moment."

Earlier this month, at least five people, including Tabtabai, were killed and 28 others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment in Haret Hreik, south of Beirut, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Qassem suggested that "collaborators" may have played a role in the strike, noting that recent arrests by Lebanon's General Security showed that "some provide Israel with information."

In his speech, the Hezbollah leader also criticised what he described as ongoing Israeli violations, including drone overflights of government sites, and pressed the Lebanese government to adopt a clearer defensive posture.

Additionally, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have also vowed a "crushing response" to Israel over the assassination of Tabtabai.

In a statement on its official news outlet, Sepah News, the IRGC condemned Israel's "brutal crime," saying Tabtabai was targeted in Beirut's southern suburbs in a "flagrant and terrorist" act. The statement added that "the resistance axis and Hezbollah" reserve the right to avenge the killing and that a decisive response would come "at the appropriate time."

Iran's Foreign Ministry also condemned the strike in a statement on Monday, calling the attack a "brutal aggression" against Lebanon's territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

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- IANS