Lebanon’s PM Saad Hariri has decided to “suspend” his resignation, which sparked a crisis when he announced it while in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago.
Saad Hariri said President Michel Aoun had asked him to “put it on hold ahead of further consultations”.
The two men held talks a day after Saad Hariri flew back to Lebanon.
The prime minister has denied that Saudi Arabia forced him to resign and detained him in an attempt to curb the influence of Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is part of a national unity government formed by Saad Hariri in 2016.
Saad Hariri said after November 22 meeting at the Baabda presidential palace: “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.
“I expressed my agreement to this request, in the hope that it will form a serious basis for a responsible dialogue.”
He said Lebanon required “exceptional effort from everyone” at this time in order to “protect it in confronting dangers and challenges”.
The prime minister also reiterated the need to remain committed to Lebanon’s state policy of “dissociation regarding wars, external struggles, regional disputes and everything that harms internal stability” – an apparent reference to the activities of Hezbollah.
The Shia Islamist movement acknowledges fighting alongside government forces in Syria and Iraq, and arming Palestinian militants. However, it denies advising and sending weapons to rebel forces in Yemen’s civil war and militants in Bahrain.
Saad Hariri was embraced by President Michel Aoun as the two men attended an independence day military parade in Beirut. The president, a Maronite Christian former army commander and ally of Hezbollah who publicly accused Saudi Arabia of detaining the prime minister, appeared to tell him: “Welcome back!”
Saad Hariri left Riyadh for France at the weekend with his wife and one of his three children. He flew to Lebanon on November 21, stopping in Egypt and Cyprus en route.
On November 20, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech that still considered Saad Hariri prime minister and that the militant Shia Islamist movement was “open to any dialogue and any discussing that happens” in Lebanon.
Saad Hariri announced his resignation in a televised address on November 4 from Riyadh, in which he accused Iran of sowing “discord, devastation and destruction” in the region and said he sensed there was an assassination plot against him.
Iran has rejected “unfounded accusations” by Saad al-Hariri, who resigned as Lebanon’s prime minister citing Tehran’s “grip” on his country and threats to his life.
It says the surprise resignation of Lebanese prime minister is part of a plot to stoke tensions in the region.
An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of being behind the move.
Saad al-Hariri announced his resignation in a TV broadcast from Saudi Arabia, accusing Iran of sowing “fear and destruction” in several countries, including Lebanon.
He said he was stepping down because he feared for his life.
Saad al-Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.
Correspondents say Saad al-Hariri’s sudden departure plunges Lebanon into a new political crisis and raises fears that it may be at the forefront of the regional rivalry between Shia power Iran and Sunni stronghold Saudi Arabia.
Following the statement on November 4, Iranian politicians lined up to denounce Saad al-Hariri’s assertions.
Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kahmenei, said: “Hariri’s resignation was done with planning by [President] Donald Trump and Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi, quoted by the official Irna news agency, said Saad al-Hariri’s departure was aimed at creating tension in Lebanon and the region.
Bahram Qasemi said Saad al-Hariri had repeated “unrealistic and unfounded accusations” and had aligned himself with “those who want ill for the region”, singling out Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US.
Saad al-Hariri, whose family is close to Saudi Arabia, has been prime minister since December 2016, after previously holding the position between 2009 and 2011.
His father, Rafik al-Hariri was killed by a bomb in 2005 in an attack widely blamed on the Iran-backed Shia movement Hezbollah, which wields considerable power in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s PM Saad al-Hariri has announced his resignation in a TV broadcast from Saudi Arabia.
Saad al-Hariri also said that he feared for his life, while fiercely criticizing Iran.
He accused Iran of sowing “fear and destruction” in several countries, including Lebanon.
Saad al-Hariri’s father, former PM Rafik al-Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.
The Hariri family is close to Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional competitor.
Saad al- Hariri has been prime minister since December 2016, after previously holding the position between 2009 and 2011.
“We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of martyr Rafik al-Hariri,” he said in the broadcast from Riyadh.
“I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life.”
Lebanon’s PM Tammam Salam threatened to resign as thousands demonstrated for a second day in Beirut on August 23.
Anti-government protesters plan a third day of protests as they have clashed with police over the failure to remove uncollected rubbish from the streets.
Police used water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse the crowds and dozens were injured.
Lebanon does not have a president and parliament remains in a stalemate.
Tammam Salam’s unity government has been accused of being hamstrung by sectarian rivalries exacerbated by the conflict in neighboring Syria.
Unrest has been building because of the government’s failure to clear up rubbish piled on the streets of Beirut since the country’s biggest landfill closed last month.
They blame political paralysis and corruption for the failure to resolve the crisis.
Photo Reuters
On August 23, protesters threw rocks and sticks at police and lit fires.
If Tammam Salam were to resign it could trigger a constitutional crisis because in Lebanon the prime minister is appointed by the president, but the presidency has been vacant for over a year.
Replacing the president requires a deal many say can only be brokered by Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Tammam Salam said that if a cabinet meeting later in the week failed to resolve the waste issue, Lebanon’s heavily-indebted government was in any case likely to collapse.
The prime minister had already warned that the heavily indebted government would be unable to pay salaries next month.
Tammam Salam also said Lebanon’s inability to service the public debt through bond sales could result in the country’s credit rating falling down to the ranks of the “failed states”.
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