The deputy leader of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement on Sunday dismissed the prospect of an escalation of violence between the Iran-backed movement and Israel despite increased tensions in the last week.

The killing of a prominent researcher in Baghdad has sent shock waves through Iraq’s government, underscoring the high stakes of its fight with powerful Iranian-backed militias and exposing the potential limits of the prime minister in taking them on.

When German comedian Idil Baydar heard that investigators suspect police may have been involved in sending her neo-Nazi death threats, she was aghast.