The content of the indictments was supposedly secret but the names were leaked within hours of their presentation to the Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and include three members of Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese-Shiite group. Multiple media reports stated that those indicted were high-ranking Hezbollah members, including Mustafa Badreddine, the head of external operations  and cousin of the deceased prominent Hezbollah official Imad Mughnieh. Today the Interior Minister, Marwan Charbel, confirmed that the suspects were four Hezbollah members:  Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra and Hussein Anaissi. Ayyash, a senior member, is accused of carrying out the attack, while Sabra and Anaissi were implicated in the cover-up of the attack.

The indictments, issued by Pre-Trial judge Daniel Fransen, require the country to effect arrests within 30 days, or the STL will publicise the indictments and order summons for the suspects to attend a hearing in the Hague. The STL issued a statement, stressing that those included in the indictment should be considered innocent until proven otherwise. However, if the Lebanese authorities do not arrest and transfer the accused within the next 30 days, they can be tried in absentia, with no right of appeal.

Saad Hariri, former prime minister and son of the assassinated Rafiq Hariri, said "after many years of patience, of struggle... today, we witness a historic moment in Lebanese politics, justice and security," and described the news of the indictment as an important milestone for Lebanon and the Arab world. Saad Hariri’s government was ousted in January over refusals to cease cooperation with the Special Tribunal and replaced with the current Hezbollah-backed government led by Najib Mikati, who pledged he would deal “responsibly” with the indictments. Hizbollah denies any involvement in the assassination, accusing the court of being a plot engineered by Israel, the United States and France, and threatened the outbreak of a civil war if the indictments were issued.