Israel confirms death of Hezbollah leader's heir

Israel confirmed it had killed Hashem Safieddine, the heir apparent to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was previously killed in an Israeli attack targeting the Lebanese militant group.

The military said Safieddine was killed in a strike carried out three weeks ago in Beirut's southern suburbs, its first confirmation of his death. Earlier this month, Israel said he had probably been eliminated.

There was no immediate response from Hezbollah to Israel's statement that it had killed Safieddine.

A relative of Nasrallah, Safieddine was appointed to its Jihad Council - the body responsible for its military operations - and to its executive council, overseeing Hezbollah's financial and administrative affairs.

Safieddine assumed a prominent role speaking for Hezbollah during the last year of hostilities with Israel, addressing funerals and other events that Nasrallah had long been unable to attend for security reasons.

Israel's confirmation of Safieddine's death came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli President Isaac Herzog agreed during a meeting that there is an "opportunity to bring the hostages home" after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Iran is monitoring and tracking US bases in the Middle East, the country's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi stated during a press conference in Kuwait. 

"We are closely monitoring all US bases in the region and keeping track of their movements. We are also sharing information about the US base in Jordan with the Jordanian authorities," Araghchi reportedly said.

In response to a question about American military bases in the Middle East and US support for the impending Israeli response to Iran's October 1 ballistic missile attack, Araghchi said, "All our neighbors assured us that their countries would not be allowed to be used against us."