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WASHINGTON: US \u200bSecretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun about the confiscation of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from Hezbollah, a US State Department official said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Rubio urged Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment, and \u201cunderscored that returning explosives to (Hezbollah) should be out of the question,\u201d the US official said.<\/p>\n
Rubio \u200curged direct \u200cmilitary-to-military communication between Lebanese and Israeli \u200bforces \u201cfor \u200cdeconfliction,\u201d \u2060the official added.<\/p>\n
A \u200bHezbollah \u2060lawmaker said earlier the explosives seized last week by Lebanese security forces belonged to his group.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker, Hassan Fadlallah, said Hezbollah had intended to use the explosives against Israel, whose troops are occupying swathes of Lebanese territory seized in this year\u2019s war.<\/p>\n
A Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security \u2060source told Reuters the explosives seized in a \u200ccar last week were \u200cintended to be used in explosive drones \u200btargeting Israeli troops.<\/p>\n
Aoun told Rubio \u200cthe Lebanese army and security forces were fully carrying \u200cout decisions to prevent armed displays, confiscate weapons and combat smuggling, the presidency said, adding Aoun asked Rubio to pressure Israel to halt attacks on southern Lebanese towns and villages.<\/p>\n
On March 2, the \u200cLebanese government specifically banned Hezbollah\u2019s military activities after the movement launched rockets at Israel to \u2060back up \u2060Tehran, pulling Lebanon into the broader US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28.<\/p>\n
Tehran subsequently launched its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the war have killed thousands and displaced millions.<\/p>\n
Under a deal reached through US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks, Beirut vowed to disarm Hezbollah, which would in turn lead to Israeli troops gradually withdrawing from Lebanon. But Hezbollah has refused to \u200bdisarm as long as \u200bIsraeli forces remain on Lebanese land and Israel has continued striking southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n