The party of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has demanded its leader’s safe return from Saudi Arabia, adding to a swirl of speculation that he is being held there against his will.
The Future Movement said that the return of Hariri, who announced he was resigning in a televised address from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Saturday, was “necessary to restore consideration and respect” to Lebanon.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun also demanded Hariri’s return in a meeting with Saudi charge d’affaires Walid Bukhari on Friday, the official Lebanese National News Agency reported. “The way in which Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned was unacceptable,” he said. He added he would not accept Hariri’s resignation until he returns.
Revelations that Hariri appears to have no direct channel of communication to his own Future Movement party has given weight to speculation by Lebanese politicians and the local media that he has been detained in Saudi Arabia or resigned under Saudi duress.
Hariri’s sudden departure has plunged Lebanon into a political crisis and stoked fears of a conflict, either with Saudi Arabia, which is increasingly agitated by Iran’s ascendancy in the region, or Israel, which shares Saudi’s fears about Iran even if it does not support Riyadh in public.
Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia has a centuries-old rivalry with Shia-led Iran, and Lebanon is fast becoming the new setting for a proxy conflict between the two Middle Eastern powers.
Hariri, a Saud-backed Sunni, read his resignation remarks Saturday from notes. While he did not explicitly say who he thought was plotting to kill him, he denounced Iran for meddling in the affairs of Lebanon and several other Arab states.
He also pointed to Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed Shia militant group in Lebanon, whose political wing is the most powerful bloc in Lebanon’s fractured coalition government.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir denied his country had forced Hariri to resign, calling the allegation “nonsense” and pointing the finger at Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah did by its actions. Hezbollah did by hijacking the political system in Lebanon. Hezbollah did by threatening political leaders. Hezbollah did through a series of assassinations that they committed of over the years,” he said.
When asked of Hariri was free to leave, he responded: “Of course, he is. He is in Saudi Arabia. He is a Lebanese-Saudi citizen.”
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told journalists on Thursday that the US charge d’affaires to Saudi Arabia, Chris Henzel, had met Hariri on Wednesday, but she declined to say where he was.
When asked what conditions he was being held in, she said: “I would have to refer you to the government of Saudi Arabia and also to Mr. Hariri’s office.”
US diplomat meets Hariri
Hariri’s resignation was announced on a day of seismic political events in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi authorities arrested dozens of royals, businessmen and senior government officials in a surprise anti-corruption sweep. Critics of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accuse him of using the sweep to consolidate his power in the country.
And Houthi rebels who have taken over the Yemeni government in the capital, Sanaa, fired a ballistic missile toward an airport in Riyadh, which the Saudis were able to intercept. Saudi Foreign Minister al-Jubeir told CNN that the attempted attack was “a act of war” from Iran, which is accused of supporting and arming the Houthis.
Questions have swirled over Hariri’s shock resignation Saturday, and diplomats have questioned Riyadh over whether it coerced the Lebanese leader to step down.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he had spoken to Foreign Minister al-Jubeir on the issue.
“I was assured by the foreign minister that this was a decision that Prime Minister Hariri took on his own,” Tillerson told reporters on Thursday.
“As you probably know he is a dual citizen of Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. His family has been living in Saudi Arabia for quite some time by his choice so the foreign minister assured me this was a decision taken solely by him.”
French President Emmanuel Macron made an unscheduled trip to Riyadh on Thursday night and met with Saudi officials, including Saudi state media SPA reported.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after Macron’s visit that France believed Hariri had freedom of movement, adding that he had been able to travel to Abu Dhabi.