Hezbollah leader: Hariri was under pressure to resign his post

The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement says the country’s prime minister has been under pressure to resign his post.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks in a speech on Sunday after the country’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, announced his resignation through a televised statement from Saudi Arabia on Saturday, citing fears about his life and accusing Iran and the Hezbollah movement of interfering in internal affairs of Arab countries.

Nasrallah noted that the announcement of Hariri’s resignation came after a number of visits to Saudi Arabia, adding that the text and style of his resignation clearly showed that it was not his own text and was a Saudi text dictated to the Lebanese prime minister.

"So far, we have reached the conclusion that nobody in Lebanon knows what the real reason behind Hariri’s resignation is and everybody has been taken by surprise in this regard," Hezbollah leader noted.

"Some people in Lebanon say the prime minister has been angry with some people and currents, but these remarks are not accurate and the main reason behind his resignation should be sought in Saudi Arabia," he added.

The Hezbollah leader noted that resignation of Hariri may have been a result of the power struggle in Saudi Arabia or the result of the fact that Riyadh was not satisfied with his performance and had decided to see another person in his place.

Nasrallah said that resignation of Hariri was a plan by Saudi Arabia in order to replace him with somebody else.

It is also possible that they want to disturb security in Lebanon and launch a war in the country like the war that has been waged in Yemen, he said.

In view of the above facts, Nasrallah noted, Hezbollah first of all calls on all parties to be patient until the real reason behind Hariri’s resignation is made clear.

Secondly, he said, Hezbollah seeks peaceful life in Lebanon and advised Lebanese people not to be afraid of the possibility of a new war in the country.

“Hezbollah is totally responsible and we ask everybody to remain calm and protect the country’s security and peaceful life in Lebanon,” he added.

The Leader of Hezbollah movement further stated that legal institutions and regulations in Lebanon can help the country weather this crisis unscathed.

Nasrallah advised all political groups and currents in Lebanon to avoid any measure that would disturb order and peace in the country, emphasizing that pressures exerted on Hezbollah will not make it to change course and alter its policies.

The leader of Hezbollah also warned against a return of political groups to old times and resorting to street rallies, assuring that such rallies, if take place, would not solve any problem.

He added that President Michel Aoun and parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, were doing their job without any problem and were awaiting Hariri’s return from Saudi Arabia, “if he is allowed to come back.”

“All of us must remain calm within legal frameworks … and I don’t think that there is any party to clan in Lebanon whose interests are in Lebanon returning to chaotic conditions of the past,” he noted.

Nasrallah said any effort to disturb security and calm in Lebanon would not be in favor of people and would simply serve the masters of those groups that may seek insecurity in the country.

The Lebanese Hezbollah leader said the sole source that has talked about a possible attempt on Hariri’s life was the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya network while the Lebanon’s army has not been able to find any clue to prove that such a plot exits.

Refuting claims that Hariri’s resignation was plotted by Israel to wage a new war on Lebanon, Nasrallah said if Israel wanted to wage a war, it would do so on the basis of its own calculations and it would not have anything to do with Hariri’s resignation.

He also stated that Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led coalition were also not possible to wage a war on Lebanon because they had no geographical access to the country.

Nasrallah emphasized that if Saudis could to anything, they would have done it in Yemen where the country is caught in a serious mire and is unable to achieve its goals.

The Lebanese army announced on Sunday that it had not uncovered any assassination plots in the Arab country, noting in a statement that intelligence in its possession in addition to ongoing arrests and investigations had not revealed “the presence of any plan for assassinations in the country.”

Read more:

• Lebanon army: No assassination plots uncovered

Hariri announced his resignation in a televised statement on Saturday, citing many reasons, including the security situation in Lebanon, for his sudden decision. He also said that he sensed a plot being hatched against his life.

PressTV-Lebanese PM Hariri resigns after trips to Saudi Arabia

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has announced his resignation in a speech broadcast from Saudi Arabia.

Hariri accused Iran and the Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah of meddling in Arab countries’ affairs; an allegation the two have repeatedly denied.

The Lebanese prime minister announced his resignation following visits to Saudi Arabia.

The resignation also comes less than a month after he announced plans to join a coalition government with Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah.

He became prime minister in 2016 after serving another term between November 2009 and June 2011.

Iran has vehemently rejected Hariri’s remarks, saying his resignation and rehashing of the “unfounded and baseless” allegations regularly leveled by Zionists, Saudis and the US were another scenario to create new tensions in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.

“The sudden resignation of Mr. Hariri and its announcement in another country are not only regrettable and astonishing, but also indicative of him playing in a court that the ill-wishers in the region have laid out,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.

“The winners in this field are not Arab and Muslim countries but the Zionist regime (Israel) which has defined its existence in tensions ‘in’ and ‘among’ the Muslim countries in the region,” the Iranian spokesperson added.

PressTV-Hariri resignation, US-Saudi-Zionist plot: Iran

Iran says Saad Hariri’s resignation is a US-Saudi-Zionist plot to heighten tensions in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk