What now for Lebanon after the shock resignation of its Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri?<br /><br />He made the announcement on Saturday from Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the leader.<br /><br />Back home Beirut’s political establishment was stunned.<br /><br />Hariri said he believed there is an assassination plot against him, accusing Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world.<br /><br />A Saudi government minister said Hariri was in Riyadh to ensure his safety.<br /><br />Saudi-owned TV says Hariri was target of assassination plot days ago https://t.co/XigDamFdiC pic.twitter.com/O0LDxtjGAa— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) 4 novembre 2017<br /><br />With Lebanon now facing a new political crisis, a female resident of the capital said: ‘‘For sure, things will go from bad to worse because Hariri was helping the country greatly. He was helping prevent wars and terrorism but unfortunately he has resigned. I don’t know why, maybe pressure from Saudi Arabia, or because Hezbollah refuses to lay down its arms.’‘<br /><br />A man in Beirut added:<br /><br />‘It’s all the same, with or without him.” <br /><br />“The country is not functioning. It is the same thing, over and over. Whatever he has been told to do, he will do. And that is it.’‘<br /><br />Saad’s father, former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, was killed in a 2005 bomb attack in Beirut.<br /><br />As well as bringing down the coalition government, Saad’s resignation thrusts Lebanon into the front line of a regional competition between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran.<br /><br />with Reuters<br />
