By Zeina Karam | AP November 15 at 2:44 PM BEIRUT — Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s older brother broke his silence Wednesday over the premier’s mysterious resignation, saying he supports his brother’s decision to step down over the “growing demands and actions of Hezbollah.” In his first public statement, sent to The Associated Press, Bahaa Hariri blasted […]

By Valérie LEROUX, Katy Lee (AFP)  – From global warming to Iran’s nuclear deal, France’s Emmanuel Macron has already intervened in a series of diplomatic quagmires — and now finds himself pursuing an active role in Lebanon’s crisis. He and his ministers have held a flurry of talks with players shaping the turmoil, with Macron […]

This article represents opinion of the author Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry – Reuters – BEIRUT (Reuters) – From the moment Saad al-Hariri’s plane touched down in Saudi Arabia on Friday Nov. 3, he was in for a surprise. There was no line-up of Saudi princes or ministry officials, as would typically greet a […]

Saad Hariri has pledged he will return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia “very soon,” in his first television interview since his shock resignation as prime minister eight days ago.In an interview from Riyadh with his party’s Future TV on Sunday, Hariri brushed aside rumours that he was under de facto house arrest in Saudi Arabia. […]

by AFP – Saad Hariri has pledged he will return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia “very soon,” in his first television interview since his shock resignation as prime minister eight days ago.In an interview from Riyadh with his party’s Future TV on Sunday, Hariri brushed aside rumours that he was under de facto house arrest […]

by Simon Henderson, Foreign Policy  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to be shredding our understanding about how Saudi Arabia is ruled. Seeking to consolidate his power, he threw caution and consensus-building — the traditional techniques of Saudi leadership — out the window months ago, proceeding instead with almost reckless speed and an apparent disregard […]

by Ellen Francis  BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s president called on Saudi Arabia on Saturday to clarify why Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri could not return home, a week after he stunned his country by resigning while in the kingdom. A senior Lebanese official said President Michel Aoun had told foreign ambassadors Hariri had been “kidnapped” […]

  By Tamara Qiblawi, Angela Dewan and Schams Elwazer, CNN – Beirut (CNN)Lebanon’s government believes Saudi Arabia is restricting the movement and communications of its Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a high-level ministerial source told CNN on Friday. The source said Hariri “isn’t expressing himself freely” with the Lebanese government and that his own political bloc […]

by economist.com – Article represents only the opinion of the author   The way the prince is going about enacting change is worrying. One reason is that his ambition too often turns to rashness. He led an Arab coalition into an unwinnable war in Yemen against the Houthis, a Shia militia, creating a humanitarian disaster. He […]

By ZEINA KARAM and BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday ordered its citizens out of Lebanon in its first concrete action against the Mediterranean country, while officials in Beirut demanded the immediate return of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who abruptly announced his resignation last week in a television appearance from the kingdom, where he has been holed up since. The developments were the latest twist in the saga of Hariri, whose fate increasingly resembled a bizarre mystery-thriller that has gripped his nation and sent tensions soaring with Saudi Arabia. With the Lebanese government in limbo, officials in Beirut said they haven’t heard from Hariri since he departed for Saudi Arabia last week. Hariri’s own Future Movement party called Thursday for his immediate return home for the “dignity of the nation. Beyond a phone call on Saturday informing President Michael Aoun of his resignation, Hariri has not made contact with Lebanese officials. Aoun has said he would not accept the resignation until Hariri returns to the country and explains the circumstances of his decision to step down. Late Wednesday night, Hariri’s private plane took off from Riyadh and flew back to Beirut — and Lebanese breathlessly awaited his arrival, only to discover he wasn’t on board.

“How can they hold a prime minister?” asked a Hariri supporter in Beirut who gave only his first name, Abed, saying he feared retaliation for his comments. He said he was at a loss to know what to think, adding that if it turns out that the Saudis were indeed holding Hariri under house arrest “then they have humiliated the whole country by doing this.” On Thursday, Hariri’s Future Movement party delivered its sharpest rebuke yet over Hariri’s absence, demanding that he be returned home immediately — the clearest sign so far that it believes he is being held by the Saudis against his will. “The return of the Lebanese prime minister, the national leader, Saad Hariri, and the head of the Future Movement, is necessary to restore dignity and respect to Lebanon at home and abroad,” former premier Fouad Saniora said in the statement read on TV. The Riyadh government, meanwhile, after days of leveling threats against Beirut, ordered all Saudis living in or visiting Lebanon to depart “immediately,” and warned against travel to the country. Saudi Arabia sees Hezbollah as a proxy of Iran amid a spiraling rivalry between the two regional Sunni and Shiite heavyweights. Saudi Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan warned earlier this month that his government would deal with Lebanon as a hostile state as long as the militant group Hezbollah was in the Lebanese government. The Lebanese unity government that Hariri formed a year ago includes Hezbollah members — the result of an implicit Saudi-Iranian understanding to sideline Lebanon from the other proxy wars in the region. That understanding came to an abrupt end with Hariri’s resignation, throwing the country back into the forefront of the Sunni-Shiite regional conflicts.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is currently visiting the United Arab Emirates, declined to discuss Hariri’s resignation, saying only that he hopes Lebanon will have a new government soon. He was set to travel to Saudi Arabia later Thursday to discuss the situation in Lebanon and other issues. “We’ve had some contact but there’s no reason to say anything officially regarding this,” Macron said when asked if he had contact with Hariri. “So far, all I can say is we did not receive any requests” from Hariri for asylum, the French leader said.