Lebanon’s central bank has this week canceled the local license of Bank Saderat Iran, one of Iran's largest banks, as the United States steps up pressure on countries to sever commercial ties with Tehran.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Central Bank Governor Karim Souaid stated that the move aims to "send a clear signal to the outside world that we are determined to protect our banking sector from any entity that might expose it to the risk of contamination."

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told Al-Jadeed TV on Friday that he met with a number of Lebanese officials over the past two days to exchange views and positions, describing the atmosphere of the meetings as good.

He added that a recent meeting in New York with Lebanese officials addressed the issue of the controversy over the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, noting that there are proposals to choose a path acceptable to both parties.

In the presence of Minister of Culture Ghassan Salamé, U.S. Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa, and a gathering of local officials and cultural heritage leaders, the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and U.S. Embassy Beirut celebrated the completion of the preservation and restoration work at the Mussaylha Archaeological Site.

Syrian authorities have announced the arrest of a former paramilitary leader who is the main suspect in a massacre of nearly 250 civilians by Assad-allied forces during the country's civil war.

A Syrian security source told AFP that Ali Kayali was apprehended in Lebanon during an operation coordinated with Lebanese authorities. Lebanese media reports said Thursday that the man was “kidnapped” from his home in Lebanon's Mansourieh and that his wife and son were tied up by the culprits.

Syrian authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of a paramilitary leader whose forces backed ousted leader Bashar al-Assad during the country's war, and who is accused of being the main culprit in a massacre of nearly 250 civilians, shortly after a Lebanese media report said the man was “kidnapped” from his house in Lebanon’s Mansourieh.

"The intelligence services have arrested Ali Kayali, who also went by the name Mihrac Ural, the main suspect in the Banias massacre of 2013, while he was attempting to flee across the border," state news agency SANA said.

The visit of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to Beirut, scheduled for Thursday, comes primarily to support the government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, diplomatic sources in Washington told Al-Jadeed television.

President Joseph Aoun on Thursday threw his support behind Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad following the complaint that was filed against her by a pro-Hezbollah lawyer.

Israeli opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Miniter Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival in upcoming elections, has revealed that Israel could have executed the 2024 pager attacks against Hezbollah much earlier and on a far larger scale, but claimed that Netanyahu delayed its execution.

"I pressured him to shift the focus of operations to the northern front, but he hesitated and was afraid to take that step," said Eisenkot, a former army chief who also served as a minister in Netanyahu’s war cabinet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Iran on Wednesday, warning: "If Iran attacks us, it will receive a blow it never imagined."

"As long as I am Prime Minister, I will not allow Iran to become a nuclear state," he told the Israeli army radio.

President Joseph Aoun has received a phone call from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during which they discussed the current situation in the region in light of recent developments, the Presidency said on Wednesday.

“There was agreement on the necessity of supporting diplomatic solutions as the best means to put an end to the conflicts in the region,” the Presidency added.