During meetings he held Friday with several prominent figures and members of parliament, ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri emphasized that "Lebanon and the region are witnessing a strategic shift, and Lebanon has a golden opportunity as a result of the collapse of the Iranian and Hezbollah project," a media report said.

The Israeli army and Mossad prefer that Israeli forces withdraw from Lebanon, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting this move due to “his personal and electoral calculations,” a senior Lebanese official quoted a Western official as saying.

In remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper, the Lebanese official warned that Netanyahu is "crazy" and "we must protect Lebanon from his madness," emphasizing that there is currently no option but the diplomatic track.

Achieving a stable and prosperous future for Lebanon requires both comprehensive financial restructuring and a foundation of peace and security that rebuilds trust with the international community, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said on Friday.

It said U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa discussed with IMF Middle East & North Africa team lead Ernesto Ramirez Rigo means to “restore Lebanon's global credibility and attract international investments.”

The latest visit by a Lebanese Forces delegation to Damascus carries political implications given the historically strained relationship between the Lebanese Forces and the former Syrian regime.

Lebanese Forces sources told An-Nahar newspaper that the visit was "normal," asking rhetorically: "Would it be surprising to see a Lebanese Forces MP in Cairo or Riyadh?"

As Lebanon prepares for its parliamentary elections, it is still not clear if and how the expatriates will participate.

Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said that despite all the confusion, the elections will be held on time.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference with Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a global civil society coalition that won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. He commended the organization's leading role in promoting nuclear disarmament and strengthening global peace.

Salam noted that “Lebanon's steadfast position -- shared by all member state of the Arab League and calling for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East -- is more crucial than ever, given the ongoing wars, the alarming rise in military spending, and the increase in the number of nuclear warheads after a period of decline since the mid-1980s.”

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri kicked off his political activity in Lebanon by meeting U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa at the Center House.

Hariri had arrived Thursday in Lebanon and will on Saturday deliver a speech marking the 21st anniversary of the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

President Joseph Aoun said Friday, a day ahead of the anniversary of former PM Rafik Hariri's assassination, that "a man who dedicated his life to the project of the state" is missed, as Lebanon moves to disarm Hezbollah and extend the state's authority to all territories.

Aoun described Hariri as a man who believed in the state and dedicated his life to rebuild Lebanon after a devastating civil war, and to strengthen the country's ties with the Arab and international worlds.

Lebanon has secured temporary exemptions for freight vehicles hauling certain goods after a recent ban by Damascus on foreign trucks.

Damascus had issued a decision on Saturday stipulating that "non-Syrian trucks will not be allowed to enter" the country, and that goods being imported by road must be unloaded at specific points at border crossings.

An Israeli strike on south Lebanon killed one person on Thursday, Lebanon's health ministry reported, while the Israeli military said it killed a member of Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Despite a November 2024 truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon and has maintained troops in five areas it deems "strategic".