Prime Minister Saad Hariri stunned Lebanon and its leaders yesterday when he announced his resignation in a televised statement recorded in Saudi Arabia, citing Iranian and Hezbollah meddling in Arab affairs.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, one of Lebanon's most powerful figures, said the statement was "dictated and forced upon" Hariri and called for calm as Lebanese leaders consult over next steps.
It has also raised worries that the Gulf kingdom, under the leadership of its increasingly bullish Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, will squeeze Lebanon as a way to get to Iran's proxy Hezbollah.
"We need to wait and see why Saudi Arabia obligated the head of the government to resign," said Nasrallah.
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Bahrain's travel ban against Lebanon portends broader prohibitions by Gulf states against the tiny Mediterranean country, which depends on Gulf investment and tourism to keep its economy running.
The boycott has been in place since June. GCC member states warned against travel to Lebanon in 2012 and again in 2016.
Hariri, who read his statement haltingly and glanced frequently off camera, has not been seen in Lebanon since Saturday, prompting speculation he may be held in Saudi Arabia against his will.
He posted a photo on Twitter yesterday from the Gulf kingdom with the newly sworn in Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Yacoub.
Hariri first ascended to the Lebanese premiership in 2009 with Saudi Arabia's backing, until Hezbollah and its allies withdrew from his Cabinet in 2011 and forced the government's collapse. The Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah is now the chief political rival of Hariri's Future Movement.
The 47-year old leader was appointed to the post again in 2016, ending a two-year power vacuum at the top of Lebanon's government and raising the possibility of parliamentary elections for the first time since 2009, four years behind schedule.
Hariri's resignation came on the same day as a stunning lock up of over three dozen Saudi princes, ministers, and businessmen, in a move seen as squashing the internal rivalry to ascendant Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Hezbollah and its allies have been given veto power in Lebanese politics since Hezbollah forces seized the streets of Beirut in brief clashes in 2008. Their political bloc controls the largest shares of seats in Lebanon's parliament.
Lebanon, once one of the key flashpoints of the Saudi- Iran rivalry, officially declared itself neutral with respect to the civil war in neighboring Syria.
But Hezbollah fighters have poured into Syria, angering Saudi Arabia. They have been fighting alongside Iranian advisers and militias in the Syrian war, providing crucial support to President Bashar Assad's forces as a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations morphed into full-fledged war.
Dozens of rebel factions in Syria are or have been backed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia's Gulf allies.
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