Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday called on the heads of parliamentary blocs and political parties to participate in “dialogue in parliament for seven days at most in September” before going to “open-ended sessions to elect a president.”

“The presidential vote cannot take place through imposing a candidate or paralyzing state institutions. Is it a crime to call for consensus and dialogue?” Berri added, in a speech marking the 45th anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr.

UNIFIL term extended, resolution mentions undeclared patrols

The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Thursday demanding that Lebanon guarantee freedom of movement for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, "including by allowing announced and unannounced patrols."

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein on Thursday visited south Lebanon where met with UNIFIL chief Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz and toured the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, LBCI television said.

The U.N. Security Council overnight failed to agree a resolution for extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year, as France reportedly presented a new draft that drops changes requested by Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived Thursday in Beirut after a short visit to Damascus.

"The Lebanese must choose a president and we will urge the Lebanese officials for a swift election," Abdollahian stated from Beirut's airport upon his arrival.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, who had recently started a dialogue with Hezbollah, has called for political balance, as he said that "no one would accept that Hezbollah control Lebanon."

In an interview published Thursday in Kuwaiti al-Jarida newspaper, Bassil stressed the need to mend ties with the Arab world. "This alone would be enough to restore political balance," he said.

In his meetings with Lebanese officials on Wednesday, U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein stressed the importance of renewing the mandate of the UNIFIL forces, noting that he does not understand why Lebanon has requested the omission of a paragraph granting the U.N. force freedom of movement in the South, a media report said.

U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein’s visit to Lebanon reflected “Washington’s interest in stability in south Lebanon in parallel with the launch of oil and gas drilling works in the offshore Block 9 that borders Israel,” a media report said.

Hochstein and the Lebanese officials “discussed the file of the land border dispute with Israel, in addition of the oil extraction file, on the eve of the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate at the (U.N.) Security Council for another year,” Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said.

Former Central Bank governor Riad Salameh has filed lawsuits against the state, alleging that judges have committed errors in handling his file.

The lawsuits force the judges looking into his case to suspend their work pending a decision from the general commission of the Court of Cassation, which is currently inactive due to a dispute over the sectarian balance in the appointment of its members.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrives Wednesday in Beirut after a recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

Abdollahian, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan had reportedly discussed the Lebanese file during their meetings in Riyadh.