There was a time when Israel taking out Hezbollah’s chief-of-staff would have been big news. These days it’s a strictly B3 story (headlined with ‘tensions increase in the region’) because Hezbollah has lost quite a few chiefs of staff and Haytham Ali Tabataba was an acting chief-of-staff. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.
Haytham Ali Tabataba headed the Radwan Force, which was Hezbollah’s elite front line invasion force, the very people Israel worries will try to pull another Oct 7. As you may be able to tell by his last name, he was not actually Lebanese, but Iranian, so it also sends a message to Iran.
And we had a $5 million bounty on him for a reason. These days having a $5 million bounty won’t stop you from getting a White House invite, but nonetheless it’s no longer an issue.
Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on Haytham ‘Ali Tabataba’i, also known as Abu Ali Tabatabai. Tabataba’i is a key Hizballah military leader who has commanded the group’s special forces in both Syria and Yemen. Tabataba’i’s actions in Syria and Yemen are part of a larger Hizballah effort to provide training, materiel, and personnel in support of its destabilizing regional activities.
On October 26, 2016, the U.S. Department of State designated Tabataba’i as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended. As a result of this designation, among other consequences, all property and interests in property of Tabataba’i that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Tabataba’i
I don’t think we need to worry about this particular ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ since he has joined the ranks of ex-terrorists, not because he pretended to reform, but because he’s now joined the choir infernal.
צה”ל חיסל את הית’ם עלי טבטבאא׳י רמטכ”ל ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה
דובר צה״ל מודיע כי היום, ה-23 בנובמבר 2025, צה”ל תקף בהכוונת אמ”ן ובאמצעות חיל האוויר, במרחב ביירות וחיסל את המחבל הית’ם עלי טבטבאא׳י, רמטכ”ל חיזבאללה בפועל.
טבטבאא׳י היה פעיל ותיק ומרכזי בארגון הטרור, הצטרף לשורותיו… pic.twitter.com/UwsRKSw6sm
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 23, 2025
That saves us $5 million.
