Hariri still in Saudi but ‘free to go’
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, whose mysterious sojourn in Saudi Arabia has shaken the Middle East, said in a television interview that he was able to move freely, that he had left Lebanon in order to protect himself and that he would return home “within days”.
The remarks were his first in public since he unexpectedly flew to Saudi Arabia on Nov 3 and announced his resignation from there a day later. His comments seemed unlikely to clear up the confusion and tension over whether he had acted freely, whether he was in effect a hostage of the Saudis, or whether they had pressured him to resign as part of a broader strategy to increase pressure on Iran.
Those with questions about his situation were unlikely to be persuaded by the interview carried on the channel of Mr Hariri’s pro-Saudi political party by Paula Yacoubian, a talk-show host who generally hews to the Saudi line.
Mr Hariri did not offer clear answers on why he had announced his resignation from Saudi Arabia rather than Lebanon. He also did not provide any new details on what he had described eight days earlier as a plot against his life. He looked pale and tired, with dark circles under his eyes, which often darted to the side, as if looking at someone else in the room.
Those concerned that he may have been pressured or even detained by Saudi Arabia — including Lebanese officials, Western diplomats and some of Mr Hariri’s political allies — were unlikely to be convinced by anything short of his return to Lebanon.
Adding to their suspicions, Mr Hariri’s resignation came on the same day that the assertive Saudi crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, oversaw the arrests of hundreds of Saudis in what he says is a corruption crackdown and critics say amounts to a purge.
The resignation announcement was widely seen as a Saudi effort to bring down the coalition government in which Mr Hariri served along with representatives of the Hezbollah, a Shia militia and political party — and an ally of Iran.
Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, had said earlier that anything Mr Hariri says from Saudi Arabia “does not reflect the truth, and is but the result of the mysterious and dubious situation he is undergoing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and hence cannot be taken seriously”.
“I’m free, I could leave tomorrow,” Mr Hariri told Yacoubian. He added, however, that information had come to light while he was in Riyadh that persuaded him that he needed to review his security arrangements before returning. Lebanese authorities have said they have no information about a plot against him.
He had said in his resignation speech on Nov 4 that there were threats against his life, implying that they came from Hezbollah, which denies allegations that it was involved in the 2005 assassination of his father, Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister. He cited the interference in Lebanon by Iran and the dominance of Hezbollah as other reasons for his decision to step down.
Mr Hariri said his wife and children were at their family home in Saudi Arabia — he has both Saudi and Lebanese citizenship — and that he had good relations with King Salman and the crown prince.