BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, whose mysterious sojourn in Saudi Arabia has shaken the Middle East, said in a television interview on Sunday night that he was able to move freely, that he had left Lebanon in order to protect himself and that he would return home “within days.”

The remarks were his first in public since he unexpectedly flew to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 3 and announced his resignation from there a day later. His comments seemed unlikely to clear up the confusion and tension over whether he had acted freely; whether he was in effect a hostage of the Saudis; or whether they had pressured him to resign as part of a broader strategy to increase pressure on their regional rival, Iran.

Those with questions about his situation were unlikely to be persuaded by the interview carried on the channel of Mr. Hariri’s pro-Saudi political party by Paula Yacoubian, a talk-show host who generally hews to the Saudi line.

Mr. Hariri did not offer clear answers on why he had announced his resignation from Saudi Arabia rather than Lebanon. He also did not provide any new details on what he had described eight days earlier as a plot against his life. He looked pale and tired, with dark circles under his eyes, which often darted to the side, as if looking at someone else in the room.