Military sources stressed on Friday that the security situation in the eastern Bekaa Valley has been controlled and that the army has deployed its troops to counter any reactions following a spat of revenge killings in the area, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

“The security situation in Bekaa is under control. The army has carried out a wide deployment plan amid fears that responses could arise after Maarouf Hamieh killed Mohammed al-Hujeiri,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser stressed that his country is keen on Lebanon’s stability, assuring that the U.S. sanctions law only targets Hizbullah, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

“There is no random or discretionary application of the U.S. law, and there are no intentions to target a specific Lebanese group. We have announced that the aim of the law is to fight Hizbullah. We are not visiting the country to negotiate the law with Lebanese delegations, but to discuss the ways of its implementation,” the daily quoted Glaser during his visit to Lebanon.

The U.S. Department of State's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos J. Hochstein encouraged during his visit to Lebanon on Thursday the government officials to take advantage of Lebanon’s potential to attract investment to successfully develop its hydrocarbon sector.

Amos met with several Lebanese officials where discussions focused on the Lebanese and regional energy issues.

The joint parliamentary committees tasked with drafting an electoral law postponed Thursday's session, that was scheduled primarily to discuss the hybrid electoral draft-law, until June 1 after the withdrawal of MP Ali Ammar.

MP Ali Fayyad said after the meeting that “Ammar's withdrawal had to do with the agenda of the meeting.”

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Thursday that the prolonged political crisis can only further weaken Lebanon which cannot afford to wait for the region to solve its problems before it addresses this issue.

“On 25 May 2016 Lebanon enters its third year without a President. The sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon are important for the European Union. Lebanon remains an example of freedom, diversity and tolerance for the region, but the prolonged political crisis can only further weaken the country and its institutions in facing its many challenges. Lebanon cannot afford to wait for the region to solve its problems before it addresses this issue,” said Mogherini.

Al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri stressed on Thursday that his party has never sought to monopolize power as claimed by Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in his latest speech, and urged him to give ear to the “silent Shiite majority” that opposes his interventions in Syria and Yemen.

“If the Mustaqbal movement was seeking monopolization to dominate authority, it wouldn't have approved a hybrid proportional draft law with the Lebanese Forces and the Democratic Gathering bloc at the parliament,” said Hariri via Twitter.

Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblat stated on Thursday that Iran is obstructing the election of a Lebanese president, blaming it for the two-year vacuum at the post, An Nahar daily reported.

“Obstructions hampering the elections of a head of state are Iranian,” said Jumblat in an interview to the daily.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed Wednesday that the famous “army-people-resistance equation” will remain “a source of strength for the country,” as he criticized rival political parties who are not in favor of an electoral law based on the proportional representation system.

Al-Mustaqbal movement condemned Tuesday the killing of a member of the al-Hujeiri family in the Bekaa earlier in the day, urging the government and the political and religious leaders to “intervene to foil strife.”

The body of Hussein Mohammed al-Hujeiri, who was kidnapped Tuesday, was found in a cemetery in the eastern city of Baalbek, the National News Agency reported.

Unknown assailants kidnapped al-Hujeiri Tuesday morning from the city of Baalbek and took him to an unknown destination, NNA said.