The U.S. Embassy in Beirut said Thursday that the Lebanese do not want Hezbollah to be armed and that south Lebanon does not belong to the Iran-backed group.

In a post on the X platform, the embassy "the United States applauds these communities and supports the government of Lebanon in its stated goal to assert sovereignty, enforced by the LAF, and ensure that the decisions of war and peace lie exclusively with the Lebanese state."

Lebanon’s army on Wednesday accused Israel of a deadly escalation in the country’s south in recent days that threatened a framework deal between the countries and the military’s efforts to implement it.

The army said in a statement that continued Israeli attacks in recent days "threaten existing understandings and arrangements, and hinder the army’s efforts to establish stability" in the region.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that the war with the United States could end if Washington stopped threatening the Islamic republic and met Tehran's conditions, including regarding its nuclear program.

"If the enemy wants an end to this situation, it must, while completely stopping the war, refrain from renewed threats, withdraw the Israeli regime's army from Lebanon, end the blockade of Yemen, release $24 billion in Iran's frozen assets and refrain from any interference in the country's nuclear and missile capabilities," IRGC Spokesman Hossein Mohebi said, according to the Fars news agency.

Hezbollah has conveyed to relevant parties that it will not grant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “what he wants, at the timing he desires, merely to serve his electoral calculations,” a prominent political source said.

“The military silence it is maintaining is not without reason,” the source told al-Joumhouria newspaper.

President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday said that the loyalty of the Lebanese must be to their country, warning that “anyone who seeks external backing against a fellow citizen at home is bound to lose, because foreign powers will eventually abandon them.”

“No war in Lebanon has ever produced a winner; rather, everyone lost, and the nation itself suffered. We chose the path of negotiation because we are a sovereign state; this decision serves Lebanon’s interests and is not intended to appease any foreign party,” Aoun said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea expressed deep concern Wednesday that Nabatieh could face the same fate as Ali al-Taher and Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, calling on state authorities to strictly enforce decisions outlawing Hezbollah’s military and security wings.

Geagea urged the government to act firmly by expelling all illegal gunmen from Nabatieh and dismantling non-state military infrastructure to help secure a ceasefire in and around the southern city.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday stated that “just as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always stood by Lebanon during every crisis it has faced, it is our duty, as Lebanese people, to stand united with the Kingdom as it faces heinous and bloody attacks."

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeted oil facilities in south Saudi Arabia in recent days, wounding dozens, as deadly fighting and Saudi airstrikes renewed in Yemen after a Houthi offensive towards the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandab chokepoint.

The Head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, told U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa that Lebanon's Shiite community did not take up arms by choice, but out of necessity to confront Israeli occupation, Al-Liwaa newspaper reported Wednesday.

During their Tuesday meeting, Khatib rejected designations labeling the Shiite community as "terrorists." He emphasized that Shiites are open to resolving the thorny issue of disarmament, "provided they are given security guarantees and protection to safeguard their future and survival in Lebanon", the daily added.

Retired military personnel on Wednesday staged protests at the Riad Al-Solh Square, near the entrance to Parliament, and in other locations in the country to reject the 2027 draft state budget, which failed to include any adjustment to ranks and salaries.

They criticized authorities for overlooking their demands, accusing them of being indifferent to the hardships they face in meeting their living expenses.

Joint Saudi-American diplomatic efforts over the past 24 hours have succeeded in de-escalating tensions in southern Lebanon following direct U.S. engagement with Israel, local media reported.

U.S. sources told al-Jadeed that meetings between American and Saudi officials focused on the Lebanese file, with Riyadh backing the Lebanese government's demands to secure a permanent solution.