Mikati calls on leaders to ease down provocative rhetoric

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the Lebanese leaders to ease down their provocative rhetoric in order "to spare the country further tensions."

For his part, Speaker Nabih Berri that Bir al-Hassan blasts are "a criminal act" that targets Lebanon's security and stability.  

He also called on the Lebanese leaders to assume their national responsibilities and hold dialogue to end the country's pending issues.

This as Saudi Arabia condemned the suicide attack, dubbing it as "cowardly terrorist bombings", the official SPA news agency said.

"An official source stated that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly denounces and condemns the cowardly terrorist bombings in the Lebanese capital Beirut," SPA reported, adding the government extended condolences to the families of the victims and the Lebanese government and people.

This comes as the Lebanese Army Command - Directorate of Orientation, issued a statement in which it called on the relatives of the victims of the Iranian Embassy blasts, to undergo DNA tests at the Hariri University Hospital.

Tests are needed to identify the disfigured bodies in the explosion.