Iran will hand over Lebanese detainee Nizar Zakka to Hezbollah within the next few hours, the semi-official Fars news agency announced on Monday citing an unnamed source.

"This is done solely because of the respect for and dignity of Hassan Nasrallah," the source stressed, adding that no negotiations had taken place with any person or government regarding this issue.

Earlier, Zakka’s attorney, Majed Dimashqieh, had told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that his client was set to arrive in Beirut within hours, stressing that Zakka’s release “was the result of concerted efforts" by Lebanese officials, headed by Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri and General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim who headed to Tehran on Sunday to finalize the release procedures.

Iran sentenced Zakka, a Lebanese citizen with permanent U.S. residency, to 10 years in prison and a $4.2 million fine in 2016 after he was found guilty of collaborating against the state.

Zakka, an information technology expert, had been invited to Iran by a government official a year earlier, but then disappeared after attending a conference in Teheran.