Iran foreign ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, undated.
Rejecting Hariri’s decision to resign as a “plot jointly designed by Saudi Arabia and Israel”, Bahram Ghasemi said on Saturday, October 4, “The sudden resignation of Mr. Hariri and its announcement in another country is not only a matter of surprise and regret, but also an indication of his play at an arena concocted by the region’s ill-wishers”.
Furthermore, Ghasemi insisted, “The winners in this arena are not Arab and Muslim countries but the Zionist regime (Israel) which has defined its existence in creating tensions in and among the Muslim countries of the region”.
Hours before Ghasemi’s response, in a speech aired by a Saudi Television channel, Al Arabia network, Saad Hariri unexpectedly announced his resignation and asserted that the current situation in Lebanon is the same as the one immediately before his father [then Lebanon PM] Rafiq Hariri’s assassination.
“I sense that a plot has also been hatched against my life”, Hariri affirmed.
Meanwhile, Hariri accused the Islamic Republic of meddling in Arab countries internal affairs, but emphasized that Tehran is going to fail.
“Iran has taken Lebanon as hostage, but its ill intentions are going to backfire”, Hariri noted.
Responding, Bahram Ghasemi described Hariri’s comments as “repeating baseless accusations already made by Zionists (Israelis), Saudis and Americans against Iran”.
Hariri’s sudden resignation and its announcement from a foreign country, Ghasemi said, “is not only regrettable but stupendous too”.
Referring to Hariri’s sudden resignation, Reuters reported that it “Thrusts Lebanon into the front line of a regional competition between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran that has also buffeted Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain. A Saudi government minister said Hariri was in Riyadh to ensure his safety.