Hezbollah leader accuses Saudi of stoking war by detaining ex-Lebanese PM

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah movement has accused Saudi Arabia of stoking war in Lebanon by forcing the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and detaining him in Riyadh.

Nasrallah said the move by Saudi had declared war on Lebanon and his Iran-backed group, while also revealing that Saudi is holding Hariri against his will, saying it wished for him to have “all his freedom of movement and be fully able to play the essential role that is his in Lebanon”.

The Hezbollah leader added that Hariri, a long-time Saudi ally insulted his compatriots when he declared his resignation while in Riyadh last Saturday, and he must return to Lebanon.

“Let us say things as they are: the man is detained in Saudi Arabia and forbidden until this moment from returning to Lebanon,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech.
“It is clear that Saudi Arabia and Saudi officials have declared war on Lebanon and on Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he said.

Read also: LEBANON: PM’s resignation brings down coalition govt, triggers fresh crisis

The uncertain political situation in Lebanon has forced authorities in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait to warn their citizens against travelling to the country while also urging those living there to leave as soon as possible.

Hours Saudi foreign ministry advised it nationals living in Lebanon to leave the country, Kuwait and the UAE also urged its nationals to leave Lebanon immediately- a move which also came after Bahrain – an ally of Saudi Arabia – had already ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon on Sunday.

There has been political upheaval in Lebanon after Hariri resigned citing Iranian influence across the region as one of his reasons for throwing in the towel.

His resignation unavoidably brought down the coalition government in the country and plunged it into fresh political crisis.

 

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