Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received a letter from the Lebanese Government requesting help in the investigation of yesterday’s bombing in eastern Beirut that killed a senior member of the country’s armed forces and at least one of his bodyguards.

The Security Council today expressed its “deep concern” at the repeated postponement of the Lebanese presidential election, warning that the delays do not serve the interests of the people of the Middle Eastern country and could lead to a further deterioration of an already tense situation.

The head of the United Nations probe into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri is “more confident and optimistic than ever that the investigation can be concluded successfully,” he told the Security Council today, explaining that his team has been able to answer many key questions regarding the February 2005 attack.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has just completed an international visit that included a stop in Lebanon, said today he was “cautiously optimistic” that the country’s political leaders could resolve their tense stand-off over the election of a new president.