Outgoing Lebanese President Michel Aoun, in his final week as president, signed a U.S.-brokered deal delineating Lebanon's southern maritime border with Israel.
He said on Saturday that powerful Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah had served as a "deterrent" that had helped keep the negotiations going in Lebanon's favor.
"It wasn't coordinated (with the government). It was an initiative taken by Hezbollah and it was useful," Aoun said.
He said the deal paved the way for gas discoveries that could be Lebanon's "last chance" at recovering from a three-year financial meltdown.
Aoun also said his nation could be sliding into "constitutional chaos", with no one in line to succeed him and a cabinet that is operating in a caretaker capacity.