The United States has voiced support for caretaker PM Najib Mikati’s criticism of the military drill that Hezbollah has staged in south Lebanon.

“Hezbollah is more concerned with its own interests and those of its patron Iran than what is best for the Lebanese people. And I just want to note something that the prime minister of Lebanon said, which is the event constituted a diminution of Lebanon’s authority and sovereignty, and add that moreover, it threatens Lebanon’s security and stability,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh will file Tuesday an appeal against an Interpol red notice issued against him in France over corruption charges.

Public prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat on Monday summoned Salameh for questioning following the international arrest warrant.

The current efforts that are being exerted by Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab might lead to calling for dialogue in parliament within a week or 10 days, MTV reported.

“Representatives of all blocs would take part in the consultations to discuss a basket and a roadmap,” the TV network said.

The Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardiere, and the Director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Affairs in Lebanon, Dr. Dorothee Klaus, have signed a one year agreement for an additional contribution of EUR 2 million to support the most vulnerable Palestine Refugees in Lebanon, in particular persons with disabilities, whose dire situation and difficult access to services was further compounded by the socio-economic crisis hitting Lebanon since 2019, UNRWA said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday said the military drill that Hezbollah carried out Sunday in the South is “totally rejected at a time that the Lebanese are struggling night and day and every moment to rebuild their state and regain Arab and international confidence in this state.”

“Hezbollah addressed a clear message to all Lebanese and the Arab and international communities by saying that ‘no matter how much you try and seek, we will not allow the rise of a real state in Lebanon,’” Geagea said.

The FPM will not agree with the Lebanese Forces and the opposition on any candidate except a candidate from the FPM, MP Alain Aoun said.

Aoun considered that only an FPM candidate would not be considered provocative to Hezbollah.

The Lebanese government “rejects any act that infringes on the state’s authority and sovereignty, but the issue of Hezbollah’s arms requires comprehensive national consensus,” caretaker PM Najib Mikati said on Monday, after a Hezbollah military drill in the South drew condemnation from the party’s domestic rivals.

“This should be among the priorities of the coming stage,” Mikati told U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, after she asked him about the drill during a meeting at the Grand Serail, the National News Agency said.

Free patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has said that he will remain open minded, responsive and flexible regarding the presidential file.

"If you reject a name, we can discuss another, there are many candidates who can reach national or Christian agreement," Bassil said from Paris.

The latest negotiations between the parties that oppose Suleiman Franjieh’s presidential nomination have failed to reach any result, ad-Diyar newspaper quoted “trusted sources” as saying.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday lamented that the Lebanese “have not helped each other.”