A top Emirati court on Monday sentenced seven people to up to life in prison after convicting them of forming a cell linked to Lebanon's Hizbullah, state media said.

The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) on Monday congratulated President Michel Aoun over his election as Lebanon's 13th president, calling for a speedy government formation and for holding the upcoming parliamentary polls on time.

The majority of Lebanon's political leaders welcomed on Monday the election of Michel Aoun as president of the republic and the end of around two and a half years of presidential and political vacuum.

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday congratulated the Lebanese people and all Lebanese parties on the election of Free Patriotic Movement founder Michel Aoun as president, calling the election "an important step to consolidate democracy and ensure Lebanon's stability."

Media office of presidential hopeful MP Michel Aoun issued a statement on Monday, ahead of a parliament session set to elect a president, and reminded the Lebanese, mainly Aoun's supporters, of the need to comply with the regulations during celebrations that will go in parallel with the election session.

The statement urged the Lebanese especially supporters of Aoun to “comply with the regulations during the celebrations and to stay away from abusive manifestations,” said the statement.

President Michel Aoun pledged in his oath of office on Monday to endorse an "independent foreign policy" and to protect Lebanon from "the fires burning across the region."

Former general Michel Aoun, who was elected Lebanese president Monday, was once in the vanguard of opposition to Syria's regime before an about-face that saw him join forces with Hizbullah.

The stubborn 81-year-old now realizes his long-held dream of taking the country's highest office after winning support from two fierce rivals, the Christian leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, and Sunni ex-prime minister Saad Hariri.

Lebanon's parliamentarians elected on Monday founder of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun president of the republic after a longtime vacuum that has been plaguing Lebanon since May 2014 when the term of the president ended.

Eighty-three deputies out of 127 voted for Aoun in the second round when the first round failed to secure him a two-thirds majority winning vote.

Lebanese security forces have tightened security in downtown Beirut where legislators are to convene to elect a new president.

Christian leader Michel Aoun, a former army commander and strong ally of Hizbullah, is widely expected to win a two-third majority vote to become Lebanon's 13th president at Monday's session of Parliament.

Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea warned against any delays in forming the government during the new presidential mandate, noting that “such a delay would signal the mandate's end before it actually begins.”

Geagea anticipated that the upcoming new government should be formed within four weeks “shall agreements exists,” among the political parties, he said in an interview to the NTV station.