President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that no one can claim sovereignty or pretend to love their country while attacking the army and security forces tasked with safeguarding security, stability, and state authority.

The remarks come after Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and some lawmakers criticized army chief Rodolphe Haykal.

The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, has stressed in an interview on al-Mayadeen television that "any new U.S. attack will be met by targeting distant American military bases as well."

He also pointed out that "ending the war on all fronts in West Asia (the Middle East), especially Lebanon, is one of our fundamental conditions."

Kataeb Party Leader MP Sami Gemayel said Wednesday that Hezbollah has "lost its way to the south," ending up in Fanar, Bsharri, Tannourine, and Dahr al-Baidar.

The remarks, posted Wednesday on the X platform, come after security forces arrested five Hezbollah members on the outskirts of Batroun and Bsharri.

The Global Health Institute (GHI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the Meem Foundation, a UAE-based philanthropic organization, joined forces to create new pathways for women’s economic empowerment and community health through the Mobile University for Health (MUH), with the aim of driving lasting social impact, particularly among underserved communities.

Through funding from the foundation, GHI will train 100 women from underserved communities as community health workers, adapt MUH’s certificate programs for digital delivery, and support continuous learning and peer exchange through a community of practice.

Security forces arrested five Hezbollah members on Tuesday on the outskirts of Batroun and Bsharri. The five men reportedly had papers and maps, which they managed to tear up before their arrest.

Journalist Riad Tawk reported in a video published by Beirut Time that the documents contained lists of locations across the Koura, Batroun, and Bsharri districts, as well as references to weapons, including sniper rifles.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed Tuesday that Lebanon is a sovereign country and that Washington would not negotiate with Iran over it.

“Why would we negotiate Lebanon with Iran? What does Iran have to do with Lebanon? I mean they can claim whatever they want, but Lebanon is a sovereign country,” said Rubio in response to a reporter’s questions.

Speaker Nabih Berri has rejected any political targeting of the army and its commander, General Rodolphe Haykal, emphasizing that "this act is a crime and a grave sin."

"As I have previously affirmed on more than one occasion, the army is a red line," he added, in remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper published Tuesday.

Defense Minister Michel Menassa voiced Tuesday his support for the army, which he said has been recently targeted.

"All the army asks is that no Lebanese — intentionally or unintentionally — stabs it in the back or undermines its sacrifices and the blood of its martyrs," Menassa's office said in a statement.

The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad has said that it is “deeply regrettable” that some Lebanese still maintain “their racist and factional mentality, hoping to monopolize power in their country.”

In an op-ed in al-Akhbar newspaper marking Hezbollah’s “Martyr Day”, Raad said those Lebanese parties are “delusionally expecting support from the Zionist occupiers and their tyrannical American backer.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to discuss security arrangements in southern Lebanon before the U.N. peacekeeper mandate expires on Dec. 31.

The talks focused on replacing the current peacekeeping force with a lighter monitoring system.