Lebanese PM Saad Hariri resigns over fears of assassination plot

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has resigned in a television address, saying he feared for his life, while also fiercely criticising Iran.

"I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life," he said.

His resignation was expected to raise tensions in the country. In his speech, he said he feared for his life and said the atmosphere in the country was similar to the one that existed before his father, former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.

"We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of martyr Rafik al-Hariri," he said in the broadcast from Beirut.

In the televised address, Hariri attacked the Iran-backed Shia movement, which wields considerable power in Lebanon.

Hariri has accused Tehran of spreading destruction throughout the region, “the evil that Iran spreads in the region will backfire on it.” 

Hariri accused Iran of sowing "fear and destruction" in several countries, including Lebanon.

Hariri was named prime minister in November last year, and headed a 30-member national unity cabinet that included the Shiite militant Hezbollah. The government has largely succeeded in protecting the country from the effects of the civil war in Syria. 

“Hezbollah was able in past decades to impose a status quo in Lebanon through its weapons directed at the chests of Syrians and Lebanese,” he said.