Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, called for direct confrontation with Israel on Sunday after Hezbollah said a senior commander and four other members were killed in an Israeli strike near Beirut.

In a post in Arabic on X, Larijani offered condolences for the deaths, describing those killed as having “reached their wish.”

He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “continues his adventurism to the point that everyone reaches the conclusion that there is no path left except direct confrontation with Israel.”

Hezbollah said the strike on Sunday killed Tabtabai, the group’s top military official, and wounded 28 others.

Israel’s military said it targeted Tabtabai in Beirut’s southern suburbs, calling him a senior official overseeing Hezbollah’s military readiness, in one of the most significant escalations since a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024.

Iran has condemned the attack as a violation of the ceasefire and a “war crime,” and Hezbollah has said it crossed a “red line,” adding that its leadership would decide how to respond.

The United States designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization and sanctioned Tabtabai in 2016, describing him as a key commander within the group.