President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed Lebanon’s wish to keep the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in south Lebanon, as he met with U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

Aoun hoped that the U.N. Security Council would approve Lebanon’s request to renew UNIFIL’s mandate for the coming year.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Wednesday that Israel is prepared to expand its “permanent” security zone in south Lebanon, evacuate Beirut’s southern suburbs and displace more than one million Shiites in Lebanon if Hezbollah joins any Iranian attack on Israel.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson has confirmed that Washington is aware of a judicial complaint filed by a pro-Hezbollah lawyer against Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad.

The lawyer, Hassan Bazzi, filed the complaint in Lebanon over unconfirmed reports that Moawad had contacted Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter to inquire about the health of his son who was seriously wounded in a Palestinian car ramming attack in the occupied West Bank. Moawad and Leiter have participated in several rounds of Lebanese-Israeli diplomatic talks since June -- the first between the two sides since 1983.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh and an accompanying diplomatic delegation arrived Wednesday at the Rafik Hariri International Airport, where they were received by a delegation from the Amal Movement led by senior official Khalil Hamdan, representing Speaker Nabih Berri, and MP Ali al-Meqdad, representing the leadership of Hezbollah.

Hamdan conveyed to the Iranian official greetings from Berri and the leadership of the Amal Movement, welcoming him to Lebanon, the National News Agency said.

President Joseph Aoun is communicating with senior U.S. officials to prevent Netanyahu from expanding the Israeli-declared yellow zone in south Lebanon, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Wednesday.

The daily said that Aoun received U.S. guarantees that Netanyahu will not be given the green light to do so.

Israeli artillery shelled Wednesday Shaqra, al-Mansouri, Majdalzoun, al-Khiam, Wadi Slouqi and al-Arayesh between Harees and Hadatha in south Lebanon.

Other town and villages in the south were shelled overnight, including Mayfadoun, Beit Yahoun and Marjaayoun.

Minister of Interior and Municipalities Ahmad al-Hajjar on Tuesday commended the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), praising "the efforts of the officers and members at the Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint, whose vigilance, professionalism, and dedication enabled them to intercept a vehicle containing explosive materials and arrest two individuals on board."

Chairing a meeting of the Central Internal Security Council, Hajjar considered that "this operation underscores the pivotal role played by the Internal Security Forces in detecting security risks and confronting them before they turn into an actual threat to security and stability."

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Tuesday at the Grand Serail with Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal and discussed with him the security situation in the country, particularly in the South.

The Tampa military meeting between Lebanon and Israel will take place on October 20 and 22 but there are no high expectations regarding the results, a Lebanese source said on Tuesday.

“Israel is not cooperating with the verification mechanism, which includes the United States,” the source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel, noting that “Israel wants a direct operations room with the Lebanese Army to verify the pilot zones.”

An Israeli strike targeted Tuesday Wadi Slouqi, Kfartebnit and Wadi al-Hujair, while artillery shelled overnight Harees, Baraashit, Mayfadoun and al-Mansouri.

Later in the day, artillery shelled the Khardali-Litani road.