In an interview published Thursday (November 30th) in French magazine Paris Match, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri charged that the Syrian regime which he blames for his father's assassination also wants him killed, AFP reported.
"I have a lot of enemies, extremists and the Syrian regime. The latter has issued a death sentence against me. They accuse me of interference in their country," said al-Hariri, who was interviewed at his Beirut residence.
Al-Hariri, who has made the same accusation in the past, says the regime in Syria was behind the 2005 assassination of his father, former premier Rafiq al-Hariri, in a car bombing on the Beirut seafront, a charge denied by Damascus.
At Lebanese President Michel Aoun's request, al-Hariri has suspended his shock resignation announced from Riyadh on November 4th and returned to Beirut after a three-week absence.
He cited Iran's "grip" on his country through Lebanon's powerful militia Hizbullah and threats to his life as causes of his resignation which he has suspended pending political negotiations in Beirut.
The premier, who has called for Hizbullah to "disassociate" itself from conflicts such as Syria where it has fought alongside Syrian regime forces, said: "It is in Lebanon's interest that these (Hizbullah's) arms not be used elsewhere."
Al-Hariri flew Wednesday night to Paris for a family visit, a source close to the prime minister said.
After a lengthy stay in the Saudi capital, al-Hariri already stopped over in Paris at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron on his way back to Beirut last week.
