Lebanon’s president has told a top Iranian security official that Beirut rejects foreign intervention and wants stability for its people.

Hizbullah’s grip on the state has never looked weaker. Many of its leaders are dead. Its armoury is depleted. It has lost control of Beirut airport. Its land corridor to Iran via Syria and Iraq has been cut off. And its supporters are angry at its failure to rebuild what Israel destroyed last year.

Hezbollah and Iran have emerged bruised from separate conflicts with Israel in November and June, respectively. Now, Beirut’s instruction for Hezbollah to disarm risks further undermining the relevance of the group at a critical time, analysts said.

No group in Lebanon is permitted to bear arms or rely on foreign backing, President Joseph Aoun told a senior Iranian official on Wednesday, days after the cabinet

Israeli drones on Thursday dropped warning leaflets over the southern Lebanese town of Shebaa, cautioning residents to stay away from designated areas near the border, local media said. The leaflets highlighted an area in red and urged locals not to approach it, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported.

The visit by Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, came as the Lebanese government moves to disarm Hezbollah, the militant group that has long been Tehran’s most powerful regional ally.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun rejected Wednesday "any interference" in his country's internal affairs, including the carrying of weapons by any groups.

Joseph Aoun pledges accountability as US calls for independent judiciary 5 years after 2020 port explosion - Anadolu Ajansı

Five years after the Beirut port explosion, families of victims are still seeking justice. The blast, caused by detonated ammonium nitrate, killed at least 218 people and devastated the city.

Lebanon, plagued by impunity and lack of accountability, marked the fifth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion that devastated large parts of the capital.

People are buying water by the truckload in Beirut as the state supply faces its worst shortages in years, with the leaky public sector struggling after record-low rainfall and local wells running dry.