The assassinations on July 31st by Israel of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in southern Lebanon have seriously escalated tensions in the region, and now acutely for Lebanon.

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie talks to the award-winning journalist Gareth Browne who is based in Beirut, and writes about the Middle East for The Economist, about the expected retaliation from Iran, following Haniyeh's assassination on its own soil, and that of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah leader, Shucker.

What could such retaliation mean for Lebanon which has already been plunged into a deep security crisis since the events of October 7th? Could it drag this small, multi-crisis-hit country into its first war since 2006 and lead to the feared wider regional conflict?