Lebanon's central bank said Wednesday that an outside firm had begun a forensic audit into past transactions linked to its foreign assets, scrutinizing them for evidence of graft in the wake of the country's economic collapse.

The move is part of measures the institution has taken to improve oversight, steps that have also resulted in the arrest of the body's former governor, Riad Salameh.

Loopholes in registering deaths from Hezbollah’s environment to facilitate the entry of Iranians into Lebanon have been detected, a U.S. source said on Wednesday.

“We are investigating the passage of Iranians using Lebanese documents at Beirut airport and land crossings,” the source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.

Lebanon has arrested a former Syrian colonel and several accomplices who allegedly planned attacks against the forces of Syria's new government, a judicial official told AFP on Wednesday.

The alleged leader of the network is a former Syrian army major general who is close to longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad and who, like the ousted leader, is now based in Moscow, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he will not break ties with President Joseph Aoun, emphasizing that the current period demands unified efforts to counter Israeli aggression and challenges.

Berri told An-Nahar in remarks published Tuesday that "seven rounds of negotiations with Israel have taken place from Washington to Rome, while the people of the South are still being killed and their homes destroyed."

Sources close to President Joseph Aoun have said that he is “awaiting a new proposal from the Americans, one that goes beyond previous formulas,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The sources said Aoun has been informed by the Americans that they are in the process of contacting the Israelis regarding a program that could lead to a complete Israeli withdrawal

An Israeli strike on south Lebanon killed one person on Wednesday, Lebanese official media said, while Israel said it targeted Hezbollah in retaliation for an attack targeting its soldiers in the south.

"One person was killed and another wounded in a strike launched by an enemy drone" in the city of Nabatieh, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said, also reporting other Israeli strikes on the area.

The next round of talks between Lebanon and Israel might be held in Rome on September 15-16, MTV has reported.

Asharq Bloomberg meanwhile reported that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is expected to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on September 28.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa met Tuesday evening in Israel with its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Joseph Aoun signaled openness to all diplomatic pathways on Wednesday, stating that the primary objective of the ongoing negotiations with Israel is to spare Lebanon from war while protecting its national sovereignty.

"I have outlined the core objectives of the negotiations: sparing Lebanon the scourge of war while safeguarding its sovereignty, stability, and national interests," Aoun said. "I remain open to any option or path that serves these goals, as our ultimate priority is protecting Lebanon and its people."

The Lebanese Army noted Wednesday that “recently, claims attributed to hostile Israeli media outlets have emerged regarding the army’s positions and missions in the south, as well as other fabricated news.”

In a statement, the army affirmed that “the institution’s personnel are committed to its directives and the missions entrusted to them,” and that “they perform their duties out of their belief in their national responsibility to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty, security and stability, away from any other calculations or considerations.”