President Michel Aoun on Monday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and asked him to act in caretaker capacity along with his government’s ministers pending the formation of a new government.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Monday announced his government’s resignation, amid widespread public fury at the country's ruling elite over last week's devastating explosion in Beirut.

The UK remains “a long-standing friend of Lebanon and its people including in times of need,” said Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer, the UK’s Defense Senior Adviser to the Middle East and North Africa, during a visit to Beirut on Monday.

Cabinet on Monday referred the case of the catastrophic blast that devastated swathes of Beirut and killed at least 158 people to the Judicial Council -- the country’s highest court that deals with national security cases.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday announced that the country is “hours away from a major stance.”

A Lebanese judge on Monday began questioning the heads of the country's security agencies over last week's devastating blast in Beirut as another Cabinet minister resigned in protest.

Judge Ghassan El Khoury began questioning Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba, the head of State Security, according to state-run National News Agency.

Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm submitted her resignation on Monday in a third cabinet resignation after the deadly mega-blast that shattered the capital Beirut on August 4.

Iran on Monday said the massive explosion in Beirut last week “must not be exploited for political purposes,” adding that the United States “should lift sanctions against Lebanon.”

“The explosion should not be used as an excuse for political goals ... the cause of the explosion should be carefully investigated,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a televised press conference.

At the end of a five-day government-led investigation deadline in the Beirut port blast, the investigative committee tasked with the probe reportedly submitted its findings to the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

Environment Minister Demianos Qattar stepped down from his position on Sunday and said in a statement that he is leaving the government in solidarity with the blast victims.