U.S. envoy Tom Barrack on Saturday called on Lebanese leaders to seize what he called a "historic moment" to achieve reforms and the disarmament of armed groups, days before his second visit to the country to receive Lebanon's response to a U.S.-proposed paper.

The ongoing Arab contacts for finalizing Lebanon's response to the U.S. paper intensified over the past hours and involved Iran, a diplomatic source told Al-Jadeed TV on Saturday.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday ordered authorities to arrest several gunmen who had paraded Friday with their rifles at a Ashoura rally in Beirut's Zokak al-Blat area.

In a post on the X platform, Salam said armed parades in Beirut are "unacceptable in any way and under any justification."

President Joseph Aoun on Friday denied the reports about the alleged entry of armed groups from Syria into Lebanon and the reports about mobilization for incursions from Syria.

The French foreign ministry said Friday that Paris is communicating with Washington over Lebanon and that “the November agreement must be implemented with all its stipulations.”

President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam are yet to receive Hezbollah’s response to the Lebanese amendments to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s paper, which were prepared by a tripartite committee after intensive meetings at the Baabda Palace, Al-Jadeed TV said.

Hezbollah has agreed to the “step-for-step” principle proposed by President Joseph Aoun regarding the handover of its weapons in return for Israel’s withdrawal from the South and the halt of its attacks, sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel.

A U.S. paper that was presented to Lebanon’s government with specific objectives and timelines on how to disarm Hezbollah and fix the economy "is not acceptable as it is" to Hezbollah, according to sources close to the group.

The sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that Hezbollah's disarmament cannot happen through the "carrots and sticks" approach or through threats and pressure.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met Thursday night with officials at the French presidential palace to discuss the situations in Lebanon and Syria, a French diplomatic source said.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil said Friday there should be a quid pro quo for Hezbollah's disarmament after he met President Joseph Aoun in Baabda.

According to Bassil, it goes without saying that Israel must in return withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories, halt its attacks and its exploitation of Lebanese natural resources - including water, oil, and gas.