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Why Hezbollah wants Hariri back in Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s surprise resignation and Saudi Arabia's involvement could set in motion events that will negatively affect Hezbollah.
PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 18:  Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri addresses the press as he leaves the Elysee Palace after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on November 18, 2017 in Paris, France. Saad Hariri announced on 04 November his resignation, he remained since then in the Saudi capital before accepting French President Emmanuel Macron invitation to the Elysee Palace.  (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
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Much speculation has circulated about what might come next for Lebanon in the wake of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Nov. 4 surprise resignation in Riyadh. Hariri attributed his move to the behavior of Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Yet little has been said of how the event will impact the Lebanese militant group, which appears increasingly thrust into a dangerous regional escalation.

Hezbollah’s approach to the crisis was summarized in a speech on Nov. 10 by Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah focused on several important points, mainly the illegitimacy of Hariri’s resignation under coercion and the continuity of the current government, while warning against any Israeli attack and Saudi attempts to create a rift within the Lebanese population.

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