No assassination plot uncovered in Lebanon: Army

BEIRUT

The Lebanese army said Sunday it had not uncovered any plot for assassination in the country, one day after Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a surprise resignation.

On Saturday, the Saudi-funded Al Arabiya television said a plot to assassinate Hariri had been foiled.

In a statement, the army said the information in its possession as a result of arrests and investigations revealed that “there were no plans for assassination in the country”.

On Saturday, Hariri surprisingly resigned from his post as prime minister in a televised address from Saudi Arabia.

He criticized Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, accusing Tehran of planting “sedition” and meddling in Arab affairs.

Hariri said the atmosphere in Lebanon is quite similar to the period leading up to the assassination of his father, Rafiq Hariri, in 2005.

Hariri was appointed prime minister in late 2016, leading a 30-member government that included Hezbollah.

Reporting by Wasim Seifeddine; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat