The U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Friday urged U.S. citizens in Lebanon to “maintain a high level of vigilance” after Iran vowed a "harsh retaliation" for a U.S. strike in Iraq that killed Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general who had been the architect of Iran’s interventions across the Middle East.

“Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, the U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens in Lebanon to maintain a high level of vigilance and practice good situational awareness,” the Embassy said in a security alert published on its website.

The head of Hizbullah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Friday said the U.S. assassination of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is a “cowardly attack” that “will not go unpunished.”

But he noted that “it is up to the leaderships of these two great figures to determine the level of the response.”

President Michel Aoun on Friday condemned the U.S. strike that killed top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Aoun’s condemnation came in cables that he sent to the presidents of Iran and Iraq.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry on Friday expressed concern over the killing of top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad overnight, describing the U.S. strike that eliminated him along with a senior Iraqi paramilitary leader as “a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and a dangerous escalation against Iran.”

The attack “will aggravate tensions in the region,” the Ministry warned in a statement.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will make a speech Sunday during a rally that will be held in Beirut’s southern suburbs to commemorate slain top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Hizbullah’s al-Manar TV said the rally will be held at 2:30 pm.

Following the US strike in Iraq that killed an Iranian commander, Hizbullah slammed as “totally untrue” reports that Lebanese nationals were killed in the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a visit to Greece and flew home Friday as Lebanon's Hizbullah demanded revenge for the killing of a top Iranian commander in a US strike.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called Friday for the death in a US strike of top Iranian commander Major General Qasem Soleimani to be avenged.

After the holidays break and relative quiet, demonstrations against the political class and dire economic conditions in Lebanon returned on Friday as protesters expressed anger against corruption and mismanagement.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Thursday lashed out at proposals to represent the Druze community in the new cabinet with the environment or social affairs ministerial portfolios.

“I tell those who are forming the government and I remind that Druze are not in the position of begging for a portfolio,” Jumblat tweeted.