Lebanon's Prime Minister Resigns, Fears Plot On His Life
www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/04/562072138/lebanons-prime-minister-resigns-fears-plot-on-his-life
Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation Saturday, accusing his adversaries of political interference and citing a fear that he, like his father before him, would become the target of an assassination plot.
Hariri disclosed his surprise decision during a televised speech from Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, as NPR's Peter Kenyon reported to our newscast unit.
"We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of martyr Rafik al-Hariri," he said Saturday, referencing his late father who was killed in 2005, according to Reuters. "I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life."
Hariri became Lebanon's prime minister late 2016 as part of a deal that gave some political concessions to his rival Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim group backed by Iran.
Lebanon PM forced by Saudis to resign, says Hezbollah
www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-middle-east-41878364
The leader of Lebanon-based Shia group Hezbollah has said that Saudi Arabia forced the Lebanese prime minister to resign.
Saad al-Hariri stepped down in a televised broadcast from Saudi Arabia on Saturday, denouncing Hezbollah and its Iranian backers, and saying he feared for his life.
But the chief of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said it was a Saudi decision "imposed" on him.
Saudi officials have denied this.
"It was not his intention, not his wish and not his decision to quit," Sheikh Nasrallah said in a televised address.
He questioned whether Mr Hariri would be able to return from Saudi Arabia, but also called for calm, amid fears that violence could erupt in Lebanon.