Lebanon PM resigns from Saudi Arabia fearing for life

Fearing for his life, Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri has resigned during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

In a televised address from Riyadh, Hariri 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, The Independent reports.

He also launched a vicious tirade against Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group for what he said was their meddling in Arab affairs.

The Independent quoted him as saying that "The evil that Iran spreads in the region will backfire on it and its arms in the region will be cut off".

Hariri accused Tehran of spreading chaos, strife and destruction throughout the region.

Lebanon is sharply divided along a camp loyal to Saudi Arabia, headed by the Sunni Muslim Hariri, and a camp loyal to Iran represented by Hezbollah.

Hariri also said that Hezbollah's policies have put Lebanon "in the eye of the storm."

"Hezbollah was able in past decades to impose a status quo in Lebanon through its weapons directed at the chests of Syrians and Lebanese," The Independent quoted him as saying.

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.