MIDEAST: Region On Edge Following Killing Of Hezbollah Leader

Wires carrying comments from a spox for the Iranian foreign ministry. Says that Iran will not leave any of "the criminal acts" of Israel unanswered, referring to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Beirut late last week. The Middle East has been in a state of heightened tensions since the 27 September airstrikes that took out Nasrallah, who had led the Iranian-backed group since his predecessor Abbas al-Musawi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 1992.

•  The Israeli airstrikes have continued over the weekend, striking the centre of Beirut for the first time since 2006 in a strike believed to have killed three senior figures from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). For its part, Hezbollah have launched numerous rocket strikes into Israel. Hamas' leader in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, was also killed in an airstrike on the Al-Bass camp in southern Lebanon near the city of Tyre.
• A statement from Hezbollah confirms that the group's deputy leader, Naem Qassem, will deliver an address at 1200 local time (0500ET, 1000BST, 1100CET).
• Iran has previously promised retaliation towards Israel for various other actions attributed to the gov't of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, including the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. So far there has been little in the way of notable action from the Iranian regime. The foreign ministry spox says that "our patience comes from wisdom".