The Foreign Ministry has reportedly officially informed the UNHCR on Monday of caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil’s controversial decision to freeze residency permits for its staff, despite emphasis that relations with the U.N. are a jurisdiction of the prime minister, media reports said Tuesday.

A top Iranian general has praised Hizbullah and its allies for making significant gains in last month's parliamentary elections, claiming that “Hizbullah has won 74 out of parliament's 128 seats.”

General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite fighting Quds Force, also accused Saudi Arabia of paying $200 million in support of certain Lebanese parties during the elections.

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin stressed on strengthening Lebanese-Russian ties, saying any attempt to impose foreign decisions on the Lebanese’ will be prevented.

President Michel Aoun inspected on Monday two official exam centers at the Uruguay public school for students with special learning needs, and at the Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon (CCCL) where baccalaureate official exams have been taking place, the National News Agency reported.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday called for the annulment of a controversial naturalization decree granting Lebanese nationality to “suspicious names” that “dishonor” the Lebanese nationality.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement emphasized that efforts to lineup the Cabinet are in progress as they repudiated Hizbullah allegations of a Saudi intervention in the formation process, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“There is no direct or indirect Saudi intervention in the process of forming the new government,” stressed Mustaqbal sources in remarks they made to the daily replying to remarks made by a senior Hizbullah official.

Calls of caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to freeze the renewal of residency permits for the staff of the United Nations refugee agency were criticized on Saturday as a “threat to Lebanon’s ties with international bodies.”

“The Foreign Minister is acting as if the State is declaring a war of abolition against international organizations,” said caretaker Minister Marwan Hamadeh.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri reportedly received caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Friday, who stressed “the need to include all political components to reflect their parliamentary representation,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is expected to meet with President Michel Aoun over the weekend to assess the developments as per the formation of the new government after completing consultations, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Two weeks after his designation, “Hariri is set to present the first government format, a Cabinet comprised of 30 ministers distributed on various political parties very much similar to the current caretaker Cabinet,” unnamed sources told the daily.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Friday ordered a freeze on the renewal of residency permits for the staff of the United Nations refugee agency, saying it is not encouraging Syrian refugees to return home.