"I'm Afraid For My Life" – Lebanese Prime Minister Resigns

A political crisis reached its peak on Saturday as Lebanese prime minister, Saad al-Hariri resigned this morning in a televised broadcast, saying he feared a plot to target his life.

He criticized Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

In the live telecast he said, “We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of (his father the late prime minister) martyr Rafik al-Hariri. I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life”.

Hariri was appointed prime minister in late 2016 and headed a 30-member national unity cabinet that included the Shiite militant Hezbollah. The government has largely succeeded in protecting the country from the effects of the civil war in neighboring Syria.

In his speech, he suggested he feared for his life and said the atmosphere in the country is similar to the one that existed before his father, the late prime minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.

His resignation is expected to sharply raise tensions in the country.