Former Lebanese Prime Minister and main Sunni leader Saad Hariri announced today that he is retiring from political life and will not run in the parliamentary elections scheduled for May.
He made such a decision after Saudi Arabia, which supported the 51-year-old politician, the country where the Hariri family made its fortune, distanced itself from him. Hariri was prime minister three times and is now a member of parliament.
His late father Rafik Hariri, one of the most powerful and influential politicians since the end of the civil war in Lebanon, was killed in Beirut in a large truck bomb explosion in 2005.
15 years later, a UN tribunal convicted a member of the extremist Hezbollah for involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah has denied the allegations.
After the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the family chose Saad to lead it despite the fact that he has an older brother.
Saad Hariri believes that Lebanon has no chance for a positive future due to the growing influence of Iran in the country, as well as internal and sectarian divisions and a weakened state.
Hariri admitted he had failed to prevent Lebanon's worst economic crisis in modern times, but said he had done all he could to avoid civil war in Lebanon through compromises, apparently alluding to the formation of governments that include the powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
He announced that the members of his political group Movement for the Future will not participate in the next parliamentary elections either, but he promised to continue helping those who need help.
Saad Hariri has been Lebanon's most powerful Sunni Muslim politician since 2005, but was forced to resign as prime minister in October 2019 after massive nationwide protests against the ruling class when the government imposed a six-dollar-a-month fee for WhatsApp calls. .
In 2017, when he was prime minister, Riyadh forced him to announce his resignation during a visit to the kingdom, citing Hezbollah's dominance in a televised address as the reason.
Hariri, however, returned home and renewed his alliance with Hezbollah, losing Saudi support. He decided to step down even though several prominent politicians, including parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, tried to persuade him to change his mind.
Many in Lebanon fear that the departure of the moderate Hariri could lead hardline Sunni politicians to play a greater role in Lebanese politics.
Bonus video:
