Why Saad Hariri Had That Strange Sojourn in Saudi Arabia
Lebanon’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, was summoned at 8:30 a.m. to the Saudi royal offices---he was stripped of his cellphones, separated from all but one of his usual cluster of bodyguards, and shoved and insulted by Saudi security officers---He was handed a prewritten resignation speech and forced to read it on Saudi television.
--resign under pressure and publicly blame Iran
--Prince Mohammed---he has jailed hundreds of fellow princes and businessmen in what he casts as an anticorruption drive. Abroad, he has waged war in Yemen and confronted Qatar.
---as revealed in behind-the-scenes accounts from a dozen Western, Lebanese and regional officials--
Prince Mohammed had already launched a war in neighboring Yemen--
Now, Mr. Hariri remains in office with new popularity, and Hezbollah is stronger than before--
At www.nytimes.com
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