UNITED NATIONS - UN Undersecretary-General for political affairs Lynn Pascoe told the Security Council on Wednesday that weapons were allegedly smuggled to all Lebanese factions as demonstrated by the May clashes between Hezbollah and pro-government clashes.

A council diplomat told reporters quoting Pascoe that the UN received "documented allegations" of continued smuggling of weapons into Lebanon, as demonstrated by the May clashes between Hezbollah and pro-government factions.

Pascoe briefed the council on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest report on resolution 1701 which put an end to the Israeli-Hezbollah war in the summer of 2006.

Although Ban did not mention Iran by name in his latest report as a violator of the arms embargo, Pascoe, according to the diplomat, insisted on full compliance with the embargo by all states and in particular those in the region, "including Iran and Syria".

Pascoe told the council that although the Lebanese government made "notable" efforts, the Lebanese-Syrian border remains "porous and breaches remain possible," the diplomat said.

In this regard, Pascoe informed the members that Ban intends to dispatch a team of experts to Lebanon next week to look into the matter and report back to the council in August.

On Sheba'a farms, the diplomat said Pascoe recalled that Ban is consulting with the parties concerned, noting that "a viable solution to Shaba'a farms cannot be imposed, but requires the cooperation of all parties".

While Lebanon wants the farms to be put under UN custodianship once Israel withdraws from them until Lebanon and Syria delineate their border, Israel refuses to withdraw from them.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters following the council's closed meeting that despite all the recent positive developments in Lebanon, "a lot still needs to be done," such as disarming the militias and the delineation of the Lebanese-Syrian border.  -Kuna