Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif is expected to arrive in Beirut next week for talks with senior Lebanese officials on the bilateral relations between the two countries, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said that the arrangements for the visit are currently being prepared. He said: “Due to the relationship between Iran and Lebanon, and the role that the country plays in the region's security and stability, there are talks in progress between the two sides.”

Among the ongoing consultations to form a new government after the designation of PM Saad Hariri, there is a tendency to form an all-inclusive 30-minister government instead of the usual 24, to pave way for the representation of all political parties, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday.

Sources following up closely on the consultations said there is “semi-final trend to form a government of thirty ministers to include a broader political participation,” which will be formed under the banner of “consensus and national unity.”

Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi announced Friday that the confrontation against what he called “the Iranian hegemony over Lebanon will continue,” even after the election of a new president and the designation of a new premier.

The United States on Friday congratulated Saad Hariri on being named Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon, describing it as “another important step to help build a better future for all citizens.”

France announced Friday that it is holding “close dialogue” with Beirut and Riyadh to press for the resumption of a Saudi-funded program for equipping the Lebanese army in the wake of the election of a new president in Lebanon.

An Egyptian worker was killed and nine people were injured Friday as a major blaze ripped through a five-story wood factor in the Northern Metn area of Fanar, state-run National News Agency reported.

President Michel Aoun pledged Friday that he will seek to “unite the Lebanese over a unified foreign policy.”

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced Friday that his party will not join the new government should Speaker Nabih Berri refrain from taking part in it, noting that the parliament speaker is authorized to negotiate over “portfolios and shares” on behalf of the two parties.

Leader of the National Liberals Party Dory Chamoun said that his disagreements with President Michel Aoun are over now that the latter has become president of Lebanon, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

“Since I arrived at the entrance of the Baabda Palace, it means that the page has been turned on the disagreement with Aoun and I am dealing with him as president of the republic. We have thrown away all previous controversies,” said Chamoun as he stressed that a “believer puts away all the differences the moment he enters the church or mosque to pray, and the Baabda Palace represents a symbol for Lebanon and head of the republic.”

A young footballer who played in Lebanon's Premier League has been killed fighting alongside Hizbullah in the battle for Syria's Aleppo, a source close to the party said Friday.