Former justice minister and ex-Internal Security Forces head Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said Thursday that he has testified before Judge Fadi Sawwan that Iran had sent the ammonium nitrate shipment that eventually caused the August 4 catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday reiterated his call for the adoption of “unified standards” regarding the line-up of the new government.

The lead investigator into the Beirut port blast, Judge Fadi Sawwan, paused for ten days the investigation into the case following requests by the defendants to transfer the file to a different judge.

French President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a scheduled trip to Lebanon this month after contracting coronavirus.

After television reports that around "600" containers at Beirut’s port have been abandoned for years risking a replication of the August 4 explosion, the Lebanese army and port officials began on Thursday an inspection operation to address the issue.

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki visited Beirut on Thursday for meetings with senior officials, amid a government impasse in the crisis-gripped country.

“The Lebanese people are suffering from enormous pressure and the aim of my visit to get acquainted and evaluate the situation in whole,” said Zaki from Baabda where he met with President Michel Aoun.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held talks Wednesday in Bkirki with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

Judicial investigator into the port blast Judge Fadi Sawwan on Wednesday rescheduled the interrogation of ex-ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zoaiter to January 4, the National News Agency said.

Parliament has asked Judicial Investigator Judge Fadi Sawwan to submit a file detailing any “serious suspicions” he has regarding officials he has charged or intends to charge in the ongoing probe into the devastating August 4 explosion at Beirut’s port.

President Michel Aoun on Wednesday warned of “the danger of the rumors that are being circulated through media outlets.”