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.

The dialogue between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement is progressing slowly and is facing some difficulties, a media report said on Wednesday.

One of the main difficulties is the issue of “financial decentralization, whereas administrative decentralization will be agreed on soon,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported.

UNRWA said Wednesday that it is seeking US$ 15.5 million for its multi-sectoral emergency response following the armed clashes that took place in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon between July 29 and August 3.

Four days of violence among Palestinian armed groups in the camp left 13 people killed and over 60 injured. Thousands of civilians were forced to flee their homes that were damaged or destroyed. All eight UNRWA schools, providing education for 5,900 children, have been occupied by armed militants and severely damaged. Materials have been looted and the two school compounds transformed into bases for the militants themselves.

Relative relief engulfed Beirut overnight after Paris introduced amendments to the draft resolution that will renew the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), media reports said.

The draft “was written in blue ink, which means that it will be referred to the Security Council for a vote in the coming hours,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.