French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon, in an interview with Saudi news interactive channel al-Hadath.

"The Lebanese army must regain control of this entire region," Macron said, adding that France will continue to support Lebanon's army.

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji has said the only force that remains in Lebanon is the legitimate government after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Hezbollah should not be underestimated, describing it as a "continuing force" with influence well beyond Lebanon.

Khamenei said former Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "is gone, but the wealth he created remains."

Hezbollah on Thursday beamed images of its slain leaders Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine on Beirut's iconic Raouche Rock, defying Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and a number of Beirut MPs and anti-Hezbollah politicians.

Hezbollah also beamed the Lebanese flag and a picture of Nasrallah along with ex-PMs Rafik and Saad Hariri.

President Joseph Aoun has met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York. He also met with other American officials including members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

During his meetings, Aoun urged the U.S. administration to pressure Israel to halt its attacks on Lebanon and its occupation of Lebanese territories in order for the army to deploy in the south and implement its plan to disarm Hezbollah.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack announced Thursday that the U.S. “continues to support Lebanon’s endeavor to rebuild its own state” and “find peace with its neighbors,” days after his remarks he made sparked concern and outrage in Lebanon and drew responses from Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam.

In a post on X, Barrack added that Washington also backs Lebanon as it continues “its quest for resolution of its recently signed cessation of hostilities agreement in November of 2024, including the disarmament of Hizballah.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has denied that the Shiites would obtain more senior state posts in exchange for handing over Hezbollah's weapons.

"These reports have no basis in reality," Berri told local newspaper An-Nahar, in remarks published Thursday.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s latest shocking remarks came after a series of consultations within the team that works closely with U.S. President Donald Trump, a Lebanese source informed on the ongoing deliberations in Washington said.

Lebanese figures who contacted Barrack “sensed that he is facing a harsh campaign of criticism from U.S. sides that adopt the Israeli point of view,” the source told al-Akhbar newspaper.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has marked the first anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah’s former secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, calling him a “great wealth for the Islamic world.”

“He was not just for Shiites or Lebanon. He was a wealth for the whole Islamic world,” Khamenei said. “He is gone, but the wealth he created remains,” he added.

An association close to Hezbollah has submitted a request to organize a rally facing the Raouche Rock in commemoration of Hezbollah’s slain leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine and the request has been approved by Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud, Al-Jadeed TV reported on Wednesday.

The association, however, was asked to pledge not to illuminate the rock with the images of Nasrallah and Safieddine and not to exceed 500 participants, the TV network added.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has blasted “the strong opposition that Hezbollah is showing for any cooperation for the rise of the state,” adding that “this is what’s obstructing and delaying everything in Lebanon.”