Indeed. And we also have our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. How are you, james . Very well, sumi. Good to be here. Great to have you both. And i want to start with the fact that many of our listeners will know you, our viewers will know you, you attend summits, you travel the world, you speak to diplomats, you speak to lawmakers. In these conversations, what is the broad sense youre getting on how people right now see america on the World Stage . I think the one word i would use is uncertainty. I think that, in the short run, the world is watching and waiting for the outcome of the election in november to see what impact that will have on us policy. And i think more broadly, i think theyre just looking at the United States, thinking this is a country that is in transition, that its moving, and its a country that is having a debate with itself about what role it should play in the world, and its been doing that for many years. And it continues. And i think so the world is Sort
LInks to Iran. LInks to Iran. He was one of the best known he was one of the best known and most InfluentIal fIgures In the MIddle East. Born In 1960, Hassan Nasrallah grew up In beIrut s Eastern Bourj Hammoud neIghbourhood. He became leader of hezbollah In 1992, at the age of 32, after hIs predecessor was assassInated. He played a Key Role In turnIng hezbollah Into a powerful polItIcal and mIlItary force. Under hIs leadershIp, he helped hezbollah TraIn Hundreds of fIghters from the palestInIan MIlItant Group hamas. And he also obtaIned mIssIles and rockets from Iran for use agaInst Israel. Lets speak to anna foster, our mIddle East Correspondent In beIrut. Talk us through exactly what we know about what happened there. ThIs Is a really crucIal moment now. Last nIght, about 6 20pm here In beIrut, we had thIs huge serIes of explosIons a few kIlometres from where I am now In dahIeh, In the Southern Suburbs, a hezbollah stronghold. We saw pIctures quIckly of absolute destructIon comIng ou
A hezbollah stronghold. The Israel Defense forces said it targeted locations including Weapons Production facilities and storage sites that, it said, were under civilian housing. Simonjones has the latest. Explosions, screaming. New strikes overnight on Southern Beirut. Israels military said it was targeting buildings storing hezbollah weapons underneath them. Hezbollah denied they were arms depots. Explosions. Earlier, a series of massive explosions. It is thought the target here was the hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It is unclear whether he was in any of the buildings that were hit. Iran, which backs hezbollah, has called the attack a dangerous, game changing escalation. In the aftermath of the blasts, Bbc Correspondent Hugo bachega on the ground in Southern Beirut faced hostility from angry crowds. This is one of the roads leading to dahieh. We tried to get out of the car but we were stopped by a group of men. There is chaos, there is tension, we have seen crowds gathered by th
Just tell us a bIt about the man. , just tell us a bIt about the man,. ,. , just tell us a bIt about the man. ,. ,. , man. He was a fIgure synonymous wIth hezbollah. Man. He was a fIgure synonymous wIth hezbollah. He man. He was a fIgure synonymous wIth hezbollah. He was man. He was a fIgure synonymous wIth hezbollah. He was Involved l wIth hezbollah. He was Involved wIth hezbollah. He was Involved wIth The Party from Its very InceptIon. He was the face of The Party. They are a mIlItary organIsatIon, a prescrIbed TerrorIst OrganIsatIon by varIous governments around the world. Hezbollah was and Is a sIgnIfIcant organIsatIon. They have mps and the lebanese parlIament. But they also have fIghters, as we know, who have been targetIng Israel. It Is the sort of huge organIsatIon, wIth the abIlIty to sort of lunch at these devastatIng attacks towards people In Israel. But he Is very much the fIgureheaD Of The Party. He Is the person who sIts at the very top. Below hIm, there are these command
From the United Nations, where the Un Secretary general Antonio Guterres said violence in lebanon must stop now, he is gravely concerned by the dramatic escalation of events In Beirut in the last 2a hours, this cycle of violence must stop and all sites must step back from the brink of war. The people of lebanon, israel, and the wider region cannot afford an all out war. Have a Security Correspondent Frank Gardner reports on the latest escalation of conflict between israel and hezbollah. Heavy artillery fire. A devastating blow inflicted by israel, hitting the heart of hezbollah s Command Centre In Beirut. Within hours, the israeli military announced they had eliminated, as they put it, the groups leader. Hassan nasrallah had been Secretary General of hezbollah for 32 years, overseeing its growth into the worlds most heavily armed non state army. He was born in lebanon in 1960, growing up In Beirut s eastern bourj hammoud district. He took over the leadership in 1992 when his predecesso