LEBANON PM HARIRI SAYS ‘FREE’ IN SAUDI ARABIA AND WILL RETURN HOME SOON

Saad Hariri, whose resignation as Lebanon’s prime minister a week ago sent shockwaves across the region, said Sunday he is “free” in Saudi Arabia and will return to Lebanon “very soon”. In an interview from Riyadh with his party’s Future TV, Hariri brushed aside rumours that he was under de facto house arrest in the kingdom, from which he announced his surprise departure. “I am free here. If I want to travel tomorrow, I will,” Hariri said. “I will return to Lebanon very soon,” Hariri said, adding later that he would land in Beirut “in two or three days”.Hariri’s surprise resignation came as tensions rise between Riyadh and Tehran, which back opposing sides in power struggles from Lebanon and Syria to Yemen.