Amid Lebanese concern for his welfare, ‘resigned’ PM appears on TV to say he is not being held in Riyadh against his will

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

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.



The Guardian view on Lebanon: great power rivalry in a tiny state | Editorial Read more

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. “I am free here. If I want to travel tomorrow, I will,” Hariri told the journalist Paula Yacoubian.

“I will return to Lebanon very soon to initiate the necessary constitutional procedures,” Hariri said.

Hariri, who also holds Saudi citizenship, stepped down in a televised broadcast from Riyadh on 4 November, a move that sent shockwaves throughout Lebanon and the region.

Tension mounts in Lebanon as Saudi Arabia escalates power struggle with Iran Read more

The Lebanese president, Michel Aoun, has yet to formally accept Hariri’s resignation and has said he wants to meet him in person to discuss the situation.

Just hours before Hariri’s interview, Aoun blasted the “obscure circumstances” around the resigned prime minister’s stay in Riyadh. In a statement from his office, Aoun said: “Hariri’s freedom has been restricted and conditions have been imposed regarding his residence and the contacts he may have, even with members of his family.”

In his announcement last week, Hariri accused Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, of taking over his country and destabilising the broader region, saying he feared for his life.

The Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Friday that Hariri was “detained in Saudi Arabia” and “banned from returning to Lebanon”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A woman demands the return of Saad Hariri from Saudi Arabia during the Beirut marathon on 12 November. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh/EPA

Earlier on Sunday, participants in Beirut’s annual marathon voiced their concerns for their missing prime minister.

A bright red billboard welcomed runners to the marathon’s starting line in downtown Beirut with a picture of a sprinting Hariri and the Arabic caption: “We are all waiting for you.”



Young men and women distributed water bottles labelled with the same slogan, as well as caps and T-shirts that read “Running for you”.

Online, supporters tweeted pictures from the event with the Arabic hashtags “Run for Saad” and “Saad’s coming back”.

Hariri – who enjoys exercise, according to close friends – has taken part in the Beirut marathon in previous years. But on Sunday morning, tens of thousands of runners gathered for the 15th year of the annual race without their prime minister.

Aoun had urged participants to run for “the return of prime minister Saad Hariri to Lebanon”.

“May the Beirut marathon tomorrow be a national, athletic demonstration of solidarity with PM Hariri and with his return to his country,” Aoun said on Saturday, according to a statement issued by his office.

He also called on Riyadh to “clarify the reasons that have prevented the return of PM Hariri to Lebanon to be among his people and supporters”.