Lebanese PM Hariri suspends resignation

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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Wednesday that he was responsive to President Michel Aoun's wish to put his resignation on hold in order to allow for more discussion into its causes and "political background."

"I presented my resignation to President Aoun today and he urged me to wait before offering it and to hold onto it for more dialogue about its reasons and political background, and I showed responsiveness," Hariri said in a televised statement.

Hariri made the announcement after returning to Beirut on Tuesday night for the first time since his November 4 shock resignation from Saudi Arabia.

He said all Lebanese parties must commit to keeping Lebanon out of regional conflicts, a reference to the powerful, Iran-backed group Hezbollah whose regional role is a source of deep concern in Saudi Arabia.

He also hoped his decision would open "a new gateway for a responsible dialogue."

Saad Hariri, who suspended his resignation as Lebanon's prime minister from Saudi Arabia attends a military parade to celebrate the 74th anniversary of Lebanon's independence in downtown Beirut, Lebanon November 22, 2017. REUTERS

Hariri's resignation pitched Lebanon to the forefront of the regional tussle between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi‘ite Islamist Iran, which backs the powerful Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Lebanese state officials and senior politicians close to Hariri allege Riyadh forced him to quit and held him in the kingdom, a claim which both Saudi Arabia and Hariri have denied.

Hariri's return to Lebanon followed an intervention by France.

A long-time Saudi ally, Hariri cited fear of assassination in his resignation speech and attacked Iran and its powerful Lebanese ally Hezbollah for sowing strife in the Arab world.

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Source(s): Reuters