The Phalange Party urged on Monday the government to take advantage of the international attention that is being granted Lebanon as demonstrated by the recent visits of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Iranian Vice President Mohammed Reza Rahimi.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The attention highlights the importance of Lebanon in the region.”

Deputy Head of Hizbullah's Executive Council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq slammed on Saturday U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman for interfering in the elections, considering it as a “violation of sovereignty and dignity.”

“His discussions that focused on the elections confirm that he is the actual leader of the March 14 forces in Lebanon,” Qaouq said.

Opposition MP Butros Harb considered on Friday the photo that As Safir newspaper published on its front page as “evidence of the campaign staged by the March 8 forces on the March 14 coalition” over U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman’s visit to Beirut.

He mocked what he called a “caricature picturing him as bowing to Feltman,” noting that he was “welcoming the guest and directing him to his seat.”

March 14 opposition official Fares Soaid said Friday that the main objective of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman’s visit to Beirut was to inform Lebanese officials that allowing Iran to increase its influence in Lebanon after the fall of the Syrian regime would cause a standoff between Beirut and the international community.

In remarks to An Nahar newspaper, Soaid, who is the March 14 general-secretariat coordinator, said: “The U.S. and Iran are convinced that the Syrian regime is nearing its end but neither Washington nor Tehran have an interest in announcing this regime’s burial” yet.

A cabinet session that was scheduled to be held at Baabda Palace on Thursday was postponed despite Deputy Prime Minister Samir Moqbel’s pledges to hold the meeting to settle controversial issues.

“It is necessary to hold it to settle several important issues,” Moqbel told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) ahead of the postponement announcement.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui responsible for halting the investigations concerning the attempted assassination of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.

Jumblat told al-Akhbar newspaper that Sehnaoui is responsible for preventing the security authorities from acquiring the telecom data to continue the probe into Geagea’s murder attempt.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman held talks with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace on Thursday.

The U.S. official stressed the United States’ support for Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty, and stability.

Speaker Nabih Berri refused on Wednesday the continuation of the government spending dispute in Lebanon.

He therefore called on the government to end the dispute, “which is crippling the state.”

The Photojournalist Syndicate announced on Wednesday that one of their colleagues, Mohammed Aazair, was assaulted on Tuesday by one of the U.S. Embassy guards.

It said in a statement that the assault took place while U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman was visiting Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat at his Clemenceau residence in Beirut.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman held talks on Wednesday with Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Boulos Matar and a number of officials, a day after arriving in Beirut on a two-day visit.

He expressed during his talks “the United States’ steadfast support for pluralistic and democratic governments in the region that protect the rights of all citizens, including ethnic and religious minorities,” announced the U.S. Embassy in a statement.