Lebanon's Prime Minister Hariri puts resignation 'on hold'
Saad Hariri
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri  arrived back in Lebanon two weeks after  he  announced  his  surprise resignation while in Saudi Arabia. Within hours of landing at Beirut International Airport  Hariri shocked the country by announcing he had put his resignation "on hold" while talks with Hezb'allah and other political factions are underway.
Al Jazeera's Zein Khodr  reporting from Beirut  said that Hariri's tone has shifted since he gave his resignation speech two weeks ago. "He [Hariri] didn't even mention Hezbollah or Iran[.] ... He even said that he's looking forward to a partnership with all political parties in the country "What is clear is that there has been intensive discussions behind closed doors " she said. "The resignation was an attempt by Saudi Arabia to curb Hezbollah's influence[.] ... That attempt backfired[.] ...  Hariri  was conciliatory in  his  message."
What is going on? Whatever influence Saudi Arabia was exercising over  Hariri  has weakened since  he  left the kingdom. Before returning to Lebanon   Hariri  had meetings with several leaders  including Macron of France and el-Sisi of Egypt. France has a keen interest in what happens in Lebanon  since the tiny nation is a former French colony. And as a Sunni regional power  Egypt is on the front lines of resisting the spread of Iran's influence.
Those "intense discussions" almost certainly included Hezb'allah. Given that  Hariri  cited threats against  his  life by pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian factions in Lebanon as a primary reason for  his  resignation  it is possible that some sort of backroom deal with the terrorists was struck that gives certain assurances to  Hariri  regarding  his  personal safety. For Hezb'allah  part of that deal could have included  Hariri  promising to back away from Saudi Arabia.
[TGT]arrived back in Lebanon two weeks after  [TGT]  announced  [TGT]  surprise resignation while in Saudi Arabia. Within hours of landing at Beirut International Airport  [TGT] shocked the country by announcing [TGT] had put [TGT] resignation "on hold" while talks with Hezb'allah and other political factions are underway.
Al Jazeera's Zein Khodr  reporting from Beirut  said that [TGT]'s tone has shifted since [TGT] gave [TGT] resignation speech two weeks ago. "[TGT] [Hariri] didn't even mention Hezbollah or Iran[.] ... [TGT] even said that [TGT]'s looking forward to a partnership with all political parties in the country "What is clear is that there has been intensive discussions behind closed doors " she said. "The resignation was an attempt by Saudi Arabia to curb Hezbollah's influence[.] ... That attempt backfired[.] ...  [TGT]was conciliatory in  [TGT]  message."
What is going on? Whatever influence Saudi Arabia was exercising over  [TGT]has weakened since  [TGT]  left the kingdom. Before returning to Lebanon   [TGT]had meetings with several leaders  including Macron of France and el-Sisi of Egypt. France has a keen interest in what happens in Lebanon  since the tiny nation is a former French colony. And as a Sunni regional power  Egypt is on the front lines of resisting the spread of Iran's influence.
Those "intense discussions" almost certainly included Hezb'allah. Given that  [TGT]cited threats against  [TGT]  life by pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian factions in Lebanon as a primary reason for  [TGT]  resignation  it is possible that some sort of backroom deal with the terrorists was struck that gives certain assurances to [TGT]regarding  [TGT]  personal safety. For Hezb'allah  part of that deal could have included  [TGT]promising to back away from Saudi Arabia.