‘I’m free’ resigned prime minister tells Lebanese TV from Riyadh

LEBANON’S resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said he will return to his country “very soon”, in his first televised interview since he stood down in Saudi Arabia last week.

Mr Hariri made the comments to Future TV, which has links with his party, after pressure from officials who said his resignation was not accepted due to being declared in Saudi Arabia.

Lebanon’s president said Mr Hariri was being held against his will. “I am free,” Mr Hariri said in the interview.

He said he decided to resign to save the country from imminent danger, but did not elaborate.

A dual Lebanese-Saudi national and an ally of Riyadh, Mr Hariri unexpectedly announced his resignation on November 4 in a pre-recorded message broadcast on Saudi TV, criticising Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, and saying he feared for his safety.

Mr Hariri dismissed reports he was forced to quit a unity government with the rival Hezbollah militant group.

Mr Hariri, whose father was killed by a car bomb in 2005, said he resigned to “cause a positive shock” in Lebanon, and warned against Iranian interference he said was ruining relations with other Arab countries.

He said he “can’t be the only one making concessions while others do whatever they want”.