Lebanon's Hariri says Iran meddling in Arab world

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Saad al-Hariri, accused Iran on Thursday of interfering in Arab affairs and said neither Lebanon nor Bahrain would become Iranian protectorates. Saudi-backed Hariri, toppled in January when Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies resigned from his government, said interference by Shiite Iran was one of the greatest challenges facing Arab countries.

Gulf Arab states, concerned by weeks of protests in Bahrain by the island's Shiite Muslim majority, have also accused Iran of interfering when it criticized Saudi Arabia for sending troops to support Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers. (Reuters)