Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday his hands were "extended to everyone", in a gesture to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group that accused opponents of seeking to exclude it by nominating him for the post.

With top general’s election, the United States and Saudi Arabia aim to draw Lebanon further from Iran. To do that, a new government has to convince Hezbollah that their days of armed resistance are over.

Lebanon’s Parliament chose a U.S.-trained general as president, ending a two-year vacancy in a sign of Hezbollah’s waning influence.