The March 14 general-secretariat said Wednesday that the new opposition’s main task was to protect public and private lives from Hizbullah’s weapons.

Following its weekly meeting, the general-secretariat stressed it would go ahead with its decisions to confront through democratic means the “coup” that was carried out by the March 8 forces when they toppled Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri’s government and nominated Najib Miqati as prime minister-designate.

Hizbullah has reportedly stepped in to try to soften Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun's demands for government formation.

Aoun has been insisting he wants the interior ministry in the new government to be formed by Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati.

U.S. lawmakers are reportedly pushing for the adoption of the Hizbullah Anti-Terrorism Act of 2011 which guarantees that organizations like Hizbullah do not benefit from the money of American taxpayers.

During hearings on Egypt and Lebanon this week, House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Howard Berman announced that he would be introducing the new legislation entitled the "Hizbullah anti-terrorism act of 2011."

Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Nawwaf Mousawi stressed on Sunday that Lebanon has chosen the equation of the people, army, and Resistance.

He said during a ceremony commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the Iranian revolution: “With the change that started on the legislative level in Lebanon, we are standing before a new horizon that would fall in the country’s favor.”

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice accused Hizbullah and Syria of using "intimidation, pressure and threats of violence" to make wealthy businessman Najib Miqati prime minister.

"Of course we are closely following events in Lebanon. It is now up to the Lebanese to determine how to form their own government, " Rice said in response to a question.

Hizbullah will launch a new stage of escalation this month when international tribunal prosecutor Daniel Bellemare hands over the first part of his indictment to the pre-trial judge, a diplomat told al-Liwaa daily.

He said the escalation will start this Thursday and last till January 15 when Bellemare delivers the first of three indictment parts to Judge Daniel Fransen.

Head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad said Hizbullah was willing to compromise on the false witnesses' issue, but warned that Hizbullah is a "red line that cannot be bypassed."

He confirmed the existence of a "plan for a solution" being mulled by Syria and Saudi Arabia to find a way out of the Lebanon crisis.

Iraqi Premier-designate Nuri al-Maliki has received orders from Iran to give the Iraqi nationality to Hizbullah members and protect them against the indictment of the international tribunal, a former Iraqi lawmaker told the Saudi daily al-Watan.

Al-Maliki "received Iranian orders to give the Iraqi nationality to members of the Lebanese Hizbullah after formation of the new cabinet," the former MP said in remarks published on Wednesday.

Officials close to French President Nicolas Sarkozy are warning that Israel could invade Lebanon if Hizbullah alters the balance of power in Lebanon and targets the national unity cabinet, As Safir daily said.

An Arab diplomatic source in Paris also told As Safir that efforts to find a solution to the Lebanese crisis and contain the repercussions of the indictment that will be issued by the international tribunal would not succeed without Syria's interference.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy stressed that the United Kingdom is a "strong supporter of international justice."

"We have provided financial support to several courts as part of our foreign policy and in harmony with the principle of pursuing international justice," she said in an interview published Tuesday by the daily An-Nahar.