U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Iran to "come to the table and negotiate a fair and equitable deal," warning Tehran of a "far worse" attack if it does not "make a deal."

“A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Trump warned.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat has described Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem’s latest remarks on supporting Iran in the event of a new war as “irresponsible, irresponsible, irresponsible.”

Warning that such remarks “provoke the Israelis,” Jumblat lamented in remarks to Lebanon’s L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper that Qassem’s statements “threaten the good progress that the government has achieved in the army’s plans in the south.”

Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Hamish Falconer has held phone talks with Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji and welcomed the “progress” of the Lebanese Army in “bringing Hezbollah’s weapons in the south under state control.”

“The UK will continue to support all efforts to ensure security in Lebanon and across the region,” Falconer added, in a post on X.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell on Tuesday launched the British Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (BLCC) during a reception held at his residence. 

Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel described Wednesday Hezbollah as an armed militia, as parliament discussed the 2026 budget for a second day in a row.

Gemayel said no one will invest in Lebanon as long as there are war and armed militias, which angered a Hezbollah MP.

President Joseph Aoun's security and military Advisor Antoine Mansour met Tuesday with Mechanism's Assistant Chief U.S. Colonel David Leon Klingensmith at the U.S. Embassy in Awkar.

The meeting was attended by the Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Colonel Jason Belknap.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday strongly criticized Hezbollah in the wake of Sheikh Naim Qassem’s latest remarks about supporting Iran.

“The basis of the Memorandum of Understanding (between the FPM and Hezbollah) was to Lebanonize Hezbollah’s choices and weapons through partnership, state building and defending Lebanon,” Bassil said in a post on the X platform.

A man was killed Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike on his motorcycle in the southern town of Batoulay.

The Israeli army said it has targeted a Hezbollah member in the southern town of Deir Qanoun.

Retired soldiers gathered Tuesday at Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut to protest their salaries that have become too low to cover basic expenses, as parliament convened to discuss the 2026 budget.

The retirees also demanded better healthcare services and education for their children. They blocked the entrance to parliament, sparring with some MPs who tried to enter in their cars.

Three people were killed on Monday in Israeli strikes -- one in the southern city of Tyre and two later in Kfar Rumman near the city of Nabatiyeh.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar television said the Tyre strike killed Sheikh Ali Noureddine, "who previously worked at Al-Manar channel as a presenter of religious programs".