The Hezbollah chief-of-staff successfully eliminated by Israel in Lebanon was not only a very real threat to Israel, but he was a long-time threat to Americans — an “enemy of the free world.”
The United States had a $5 million bounty on the head of Haytham Ali Tabatabai for his terrorist activities, which, like many a foreign terrorist’s, were often aimed at both Israel and America. His influence spread across the Middle East, and he left a trail of corpses wherever he went. That reign of terror has finally ended.
It’s tragic that when Israel takes out mass murdering jihadis to defend itself, it then has to justify its action at length to the rest of the world, even the United States. But with growing antisemitism on both sides of America’s political spectrum, that’s where we’re at. So Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official X account posted a video Tuesday explaining why Americans should be very glad Tabatabai is gone.
SHARE THIS: Hezbollah’s Chief-of-Staff wasn’t just an enemy of Israel, he was a direct threat to American lives and American security. His hands were drenched in the blood of Israelis and Americans. Even the United States put a $5 million bounty on his head. pic.twitter.com/c2MPB0FAgY
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 25, 2025
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A spokeswoman for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in Israel explained in the official video, “On Sunday, Israel eliminated Ali Tabatabai, the chief of staff of Hezbollah's terrorist army inside of Lebanon. This Hezbollah chief of staff was not just an enemy of Israel. He was an enemy of the free world.”
She used graphic imagery to drive home her point: “His hands were drenched in the blood of Israelis and Americans. That's why the United States placed a $5 million bounty on his head. Washington reserves that level of designation for the most dangerous terrorists on this Earth.”
Tabatabai “trained the Houthis who attack American ships in the Red Sea; he armed the militias that target American troops across the Middle East.”
The spokeswoman then showed a map illustrating Tabatabai’s long reach. “You can see his influence of terrorism in this region, from Lebanon in Hezbollah, to Syria, to Iran. And like we said, in Yemen, where the Houthis are. And he served Iran's Quds force, the same force that has murdered Americans from Beirut to Baghdad.”
Therefore, she emphasized, “Make no mistake; this man built a machinery of terror that threatens American lives and American interests every single day. Tabatabai was also a senior commander in Hezbollah's Radwan Force. That unit prepared to invade the Galilee, to flood across our border, and to butcher our people, our citizens.” In fact, she stated:
In recent months, he led Hezbollah's desperate attempt to rebuild and rearm after the crushing blows that he delivered in Operation Pager, the severe destruction of its missile stockpiles, and after the elimination of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah… Under Prime Minister Netanyahu's leadership, Israel will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its war machine. We will not allow them to threaten the people of Israel ever again.
In conclusion, she called on Lebanon's government to disarm Hezbollah and thus ensure “a better future for its citizens” and good relations with Israel.
An Israeli reservist, Dudi Lev, previously told PJ Media his harrowing story of surviving severe injury from a Hezbollah attack. His village, Metula, on Israel’s border, is practically surrounded by Lebanese terrorists. Lev survived, but many Israelis did not, and Metula was largely turned into a heap of rubble from repeated Hezbollah attacks. Tabatabai was an ever-present threat to Israel and its ally, America.
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