What the Lebanese prime minister’s resignation means for the region

MEGAN THOMPSON:

Turning to the Middle East. Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri said in an interview today from Saudi Arabia he will return home "very soon". This comes after a surprising and mysterious move eight days ago when Hariri announced his resignation from the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Hariri had led a coalition government with Hezbollah which is backed by Iran – Saudi Arabia's rival across the region. For more on Lebanon's political turmoil, I'm joined via Skype from the Lebanese capital of Beirut by NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Jane Ferguson. Jane if we can first rewind. What has the response in Lebanon been over this past week to Hariri's surprise resignation?

JANE FERGUSON:

It was one of absolute shock and that shock came from all that divided factions of politics or religious leanings in this country. Nobody expected this, not even his own followers. Whenever he went to Saudi Arabia it was considered a routine trip by the prime minister of Lebanon to go and discuss foreign affairs there. But then of course he shows up not only on TV from Saudi Arabia but on the Saudi effectively state-owned TV saying that he was resigning. And since then what has been even more shocking for people in Lebanon is that they've gotten no more clarity. He hasn't acknowledged or spoken to the people of Lebanon. Since then there has been what initially started as sort of a satirical campaign 'Free Saad Hariri'. And that has now become quite serious. Even today, the president of Lebanon said that they now actually consider him to be had to have his movements constricted by the Saudis.

MEGAN THOMPSON:

So then we finally heard from him in this interview. Can you just talk a little bit more about what he said and what you think the response is going to be?

JANE FERGUSON:

The interview will have ripped the entire nation. It is quite a remarkable moment to have the prime minister of one sovereign state effectively or potentially in what we hear being held by another sovereign state in the Middle East. Even by the standards of what's been going on in the Middle East in the last few years! This is absolutely remarkable. In the interview he went to great lengths to discuss how much he loved Lebanon and also that he would be returning. He promised that he would return and that he would resign or formally acknowledge that his resignation was a shock. But what he said was that he wanted to give Lebanon a good shock to try to explain to the country or to show the Lebanese people what danger they are in. And then he went on to great lengths to talk about Iran's growing influence that he sees as meddling in Lebanon's affairs. At one stage of the interview that was actually fairly combative with a reporter who's effectively working for his own TV station in which she kept asking him why he was in Saudi Arabia rather than in Lebanon. He actually teared up when he's speaking about his love for Lebanon and then the interviewer cut to commercial break.

MEGAN THOMPSON:

Israel is of course also a factor here. What do you think these increased tensions will mean for Israel? Is a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel more likely now?

JANE FERGUSON:

Really for the last couple of years now there has been growing concern that some sort of war between Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia could be an inevitability. Part of that is because Hezbollah has becomes so strong and they've become strengthened during the Syrian civil war. Of course Israel isn't going to get into a war that they can avoid. They have always said that they do not wish to go to war with Hezbollah. But if Hezbollah and the Iranians build up any kind of formalized positions that they believe or reach a red line for them in terms of threatening Israel, they may have to act. But so far we're not hearing rhetoric. South of the border in Israel that would indicate that could happen within days.