Lebanese authorities announced on Saturday the arrest of 25 people after the attack on the convoy of the Deputy Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as it passed through the Rafik Hariri International Airport road in the capital Beirut.

This came according to statements made by Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Hajjar, following an emergency meeting of the Central Security Council in his office at the ministry in Beirut.

Al-Hajjar said: “We discussed what happened in the past two days, including road closures, attacks on public and private property, and a completely unacceptable attack on UNIFIL forces, which is a crime punishable by law.”

He explained that "so far, there are more than 25 detainees at the Lebanese Army Intelligence and the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces, who are being investigated."

Al-Hajjar pointed out that the arrest "does not mean that the detainees committed the attack on UNIFIL, but rather the investigations will reveal who is responsible, who participated, and who committed other attacks."

He added: "We will follow up these investigations seriously."

In turn, the Lebanese army said in a statement: "Following the attack by protesters on a UNIFIL convoy and army personnel, causing injuries, the army carried out a series of security operations and security missions in the context of pursuing those involved in these attacks."

The statement added that "a number of those involved have been arrested, and they are being investigated under the supervision of the competent judiciary."

The army warned "citizens against committing acts of rioting and attacking public and private property," stressing that it "will not tolerate any breach of security or violation of civil peace."

For his part, the acting army commander, Major General Hassan Odeh, praised today the "fundamental role of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon."

In a statement via the "X" platform, Awda stressed the "army leadership's rejection of any attack on its members," and stressed the work to arrest the attackers and bring them to justice.

On Friday, the UNIFIL command announced in a statement that a convoy carrying its forces to Beirut airport “was subjected to a violent attack, where one of the vehicles was set on fire, resulting in the injury of the outgoing deputy commander of UNIFIL who was returning home after completing his mission,” without mentioning his name.

The attack on the UNIFIL convoy was carried out by angry citizens who were demonstrating on the road to Beirut airport, protesting the airport authorities’ refusal to grant permission for an Iranian passenger plane to land on Thursday.

The Lebanese Civil Aviation Directorate justified not granting permission to the Iranian plane by saying that it was “keen to ensure the safety and security of the airport, Lebanese airspace, and the safety of all passengers and aircraft,” without providing further explanations.