The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, announced only two weeks after shocking the country by saying he was stepping down that he is putting that thought on hold
Hariri mentioned that he had accepted President Michel Aoun’s wish for him to suspend his resignation, considering that it will leave room for more consultations on the reasons for the move.
On November 4, while in Saudi Arabia, Hariri announced his resignation, shocking the entire nation and mentioning that he feared his life was in danger. President Michel Aoun said that he was being held against his will in Riyadh and speculations of him being held hostage were all over the place.
On Tuesday, Hariri finally returned to Lebanon, where the first stop he made was at his father’s grave. The following day, he attended an Independence Day military parade in Beirut, and met with the President afterwards.
He was greeted at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport by members of the security forces.
The entire political crisis has encouraged fears of conflict between the Saudi-backed government faction and Hezbollah, a very powerful Iran-backed Shia militant group.
“Today I presented my resignation to his Excellency the president, and he asked me to temporarily suspend submitting it and to put it on hold ahead of further consultations on the reasons for it,” PM Hariri said in a televised speech
“I expressed my agreement to this request, in the hope that it will form a serious basis for a responsible dialogue,” he added.
He further denied speculation that Saudi Arabia had forced him to depart as part of a regional power struggle with Iran.
