Lebanese president won't accept PM's resignation until he returns
Lebanon's president will not accept the resignation of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri until he returns to Lebanon, palace sources said on Sunday, delaying for now politically difficult consultations on his successor.
Hariri left Lebanon for Saudi Arabia on Friday and resigned on Saturday in a televised statement that took the Lebanese political establishment by surprise.
He cited an assassination plot against him and criticised the regional role of Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah however Lebanon's army said on Sunday it had not uncovered any plot.
A resignation would thrust Lebanon back into the arena of regional rivalry between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, an ally of Hariri, and Shi'ite Muslim Iran, which backs Hezbollah.
