Former Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri says he will return to Lebanon to officially resign in accordance with the country’s Constitutional mandate within the next two days.
Hariri fled Lebanon and announced his resignation from Riyadh on November 4, saying he had escaped an assassination attempt. He blamed Hezbollah and Iran for his decision to resign.
French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Hariri and his family to live in France, Macron’s office said in a statement Wednesday, adding the president made the decision after speaking with Hariri and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Hariri and Saudi officials.
Earlier in the day, Lebanese President Michel Aoun had accused Riyadh of holding Hariri — a dual national who holds Saudi citizenship as well — a hostage. Aoun asked the United Nations Security Council and European nations to intervene. Aoun allied himself with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization prior to accepting his position.
Hezbollah holds two ministerial portfolios in the coalition government despite having opposed Hariri as prime minister, and comprises an entire parliamentary faction as well. But even Hezbollah has called on Hariri to return; his flight from the country threw Lebanon into a political crisis that has paralyzed the government.