Premier puts resignation on hold upon return

BEIRUT — Saad Hariri pulled back on Wednesday from his resignation as prime minister, another surprise move that seemed to bring to a close a three-week international drama and to stem the threat of new political turmoil in the country.

Hariri, speaking from the Presidential Palace in Beirut during celebrations of the country’s Independence Day, said he had agreed to delay his resignation to allow for dialogue with other political leaders about the relations with the rest of the region.

Hariri had announced his resignation suddenly from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Nov. 4, saying that he had fled an assassination plot. He also warned that Iran was behind unrest in the region and said that Tehran’s “hands” would be “cut off.”

His abrupt departure from Lebanon, uncharacteristically direct language, and the fact that he did not inform even his closest aides of his intention to resign convinced many Lebanese, as well as Western diplomats, that Saudi Arabia had forced Hariri to announce his resignation. The moved appeared to be an effort to try to isolate Hezbollah, the Iranianbacked militia and political party, by collapsing the government it participates in with Hariri.

The machinations were widely seen as part of the increasingly tense rivalry between Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Arab kingdom, and Iran, which is majority Shiite Muslim, that has been playing out across much of the Middle East.

A television interview with Hariri in Riyadh in which he denied that he had been forced to quit — and during which he appeared tired and scowled at a mysterious person onscreen who was apparently trying to get his attention — only broadened speculation that he was being held against his will.

Hariri returned to Beirut late Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Hariri said he had tendered his resignation to President Michel Aoun, who had asked him to hold off to allow for dialogue about its reasons. Hariri said he had agreed to the request.

“I confirm my complete commitment to cooperation with his excellency the president,” Hariri said. He added that he sought to “protect” Lebanon from “the surrounding wars and fires and all their ramifications.”