Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Wednesday that he was putting on hold the unexpected resignation he had announced on November 4 while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, the BBC reported.
The temporary suspension of the resignation came after Hariri finally returned to Lebanon on Tuesday night and met President Michel Aoun. He denied speculation that Saudi Arabia had forced him to step down from the post and had detained him.
President Aoun had earlier not accepted Hariri’s resignation and asked him to resign in person, fearing that the announcement may have been made under pressure from Saudi Arabia. After days of speculation and a visit to France, Hariri promised to return to Lebanon, where he took part in Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday.
After their meeting, Hariri said he was asked to put his resignation “on hold ahead of further consultations”.
Hariri had announced his resignation while in Riyadh, saying believed there was a conspiracy to assassinate him. He also accused Iran and the Hezbollah, its ally from Lebanon, of sowing “fear and destruction” in several Arab countries.
Saad al-Hariri, Lebanon’s most influential Sunni politician, became the prime minister in November 2016. He is a close ally of Saudi Arabia, which is strongly opposed to the leadership in Iran.
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