BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese officials insisted Friday on the return home of Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Saudi Arabia, and the leader of the militant group Hezbollah said the Saudis had “declared war” on Lebanon by holding Hariri against his will.
The U.S. added its voice to those urging that Hariri be allowed to return to Lebanon. A political crisis has gripped the country and shattered the relative peace maintained by its coalition government ever since his stunning announcement Nov. 4 from the Saudi capital that he was resigning.
The announcement from the Saudi-aligned Hariri jolted Lebanon and thrust it back into the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The move and exceptionally strong statements by the Saudis against Iran that followed have deepened the mystery about Hariri’s fate and led to rumors that he is being held in the kingdom against his will, despite his denials.
For the past year, Hariri has headed a coalition government that included members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia. He cited meddling in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region by Iran and Hezbollah in his decision to step down, adding that Iran’s arm into the region will be “cut off.”
Saudi Arabia appears to want to see Lebanon headed by someone would form a government without Hezbollah, perhaps believing Hariri has become too lenient toward the group.
In a message apparently aimed at the Saudis but which could easily include Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cautioned against using Lebanon as “a venue for proxy conflicts.”
If Hariri wants to step down, Tillerson said, he needs to “go back to Lebanon” and formally resign, “so that the government of Lebanon can function properly.”
Lebanese President Michel Aoun told Saudi Charge d’Affaires Walid al-Bukhari on Friday that the manner in which Hariri resigned “was unacceptable,” a Lebanese official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. He called for Hariri’s return.
In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Hariri was being detained in Saudi Arabia and that his “forced” resignation was unconstitutional because it was made “under duress.”
“It is clear that Saudi Arabia … declared war on Lebanon,” he said.
Nasrallah said he was certain that Hariri was forced to resign as part of what he called a Saudi policy of meddling in Lebanon’s affairs. Hariri is being prevented by Saudi officials from returning to Lebanon, he said, adding that his detention should not be accepted.
But Tillerson said he’s seen “no indication” that Hariri was being held against his will.
An official in French President Emmanuel Macron’s office also said Hariri has told foreign ambassadors in Saudi Arabia, where he has been since the resignation announcement, that he is not a prisoner.
The French and U.S. ambassadors met with Hariri, who “says he is not a prisoner, the (Saudi crown) prince says he is not a prisoner,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.