Busy diplomat Macron gets stuck into Lebanon crisis

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By Valérie LEROUX, Katy Lee (AFP)  - From global warming to Iran's nuclear deal, France's Emmanuel Macron has already intervened in a series of diplomatic quagmires -- and now finds himself pursuing an active role in Lebanon's crisis. He and his ministers have held a flurry of talks with players shaping the turmoil, with Macron jetting to Saudi Arabia last week for surprise talks with the crown prince. He said France had a role to play in bringing peace to a region suffering soaring tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are already backing opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Like other European governments, France is pushing for Lebanese premier Saad Hariri to return following his shock resignation in Saudi Arabia on November 4 and rumours he is being held there against his will. "France is acting so that all parties exercising an influence in Lebanon commit to the situation going back to normal as quickly as possible," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Tuesday. Hariri himself has sought to downplay the situation, tweeting: "Guys, I am perfectly fine, and God willing I will return in the coming days." But Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who met with Macron on Tuesday, told a press conference in Paris: "The only thing that will prove he is free to return, is his return." Lebanon is caught between Sunni giant Saudi Arabia and the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, close to Riyadh's arch-rival Iran -- which Hariri has accused of controlling his country. - Strong relationships - France had mandate power over both Lebanon and Syria during the first half of the 20th century. Though the room for manoeuvre is tight, Paris has been using strong regional relationships to push for Hariri's return. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is heading to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for further talks. "What gives us our power -- including in comparison with the United States -- is that we talk to everybody," said Denis Bauchard, Middle East expert at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). "France has a special relationship in Lebanon with the three (religious) communities, including contact with the Shiites," he said. He added that France enjoys "historically good relations with Saudi Arabia", even if Paris has seen hopes for lucrative arms deals dashed. French ties with Tehran have also warmed since the 2015 nuclear deal, he noted. The Lebanese crisis is not the first time since Macron's election in May in which the young French president has sought an active role in a tense diplomatic situation. He has repeatedly said he wants to keep the Iranian deal from collapsing despite opposition from US President Donald Trump. He has also refused to invite Trump to a Paris climate summit next month following Washington's withdrawal from the historic international pact to fight global warming. And he organised a meeting between Libya's rival leaders in Paris in July at which they agreed a conditional ceasefire and elections for next year.

- Damage limitation -

Macron's apparent desire to place France at the heart of international diplomacy coincides with "a worrying American policy, Britain being eclipsed by Brexit, and a certain withdrawal by Germany due to internal politics", said Bauchard. But Stephane Malsagne, a Lebanon specialist at Paris's Sciences-Po university, said France was a relative "lightweight in the Lebanese political game, which is essentially driven today by Tehran and Riyadh". Paris has "lost a lot of ground" as a weapons supplier to the Saudis and is awaiting financial support from Riyadh for the anti-jihadist military force that it is spearheading in Africa's Sahel, he said. France's relationships in the region mean it can help to smooth tensions and limit the damage from the latest Saudi-Iranian power struggle, said Ziad Majed of the American University of Paris. "But to find a sustainable solution and avoid the worst, it's much more up to Washington," said the French-Lebanese political analyst.

Lebanese patriarch meets Saudi king in historic visit

RIYADH, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Christian Maronite Patriarch met Saudi Arabian King Salman on Tuesday in an historic visit to the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom which bans the practice of other religions but says it wants to open up more to the world. He will also meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who in addition to pushing radical economic reforms has pledged to relax his country's strict social norms and revive "a middle-of-the-road, moderate Islam open to the world and all religions, traditions and people". An official visit to the kingdom by such a senior non-Muslim cleric is a rare act of religious openness for Saudi Arabia, which hosts the holiest sites in Islam but does not tolerate non-Muslims practising their faith publicly, forcing Christians to risk arrest by praying in private homes. Flanked by fellow Catholic clerics wearing vestments and big gold crosses, Rai discussed with King Salman religious tolerance and combating extremism, the Saudi state news agency said. He also met later with Saad al-Hariri, a Saudi ally who resigned as prime minister on Nov. 4 in a move Lebanese political leaders ascribed to pressure from Riyadh. Hariri said his resignation had been prompted by an assassination plot. He accused Iran and Hezbollah of sowing strife in the region. Prince Mohammed, the 32-year-old son of the king, has taken a harder line on Iran since taking on wide-ranging authorities over the past two years including defence minister. He has also pushed for more social freedoms in a country where authority has rested on an enduring accommodation between the royal family and clerics who control the hardline Wahhabi strain of Islam that originated in Saudi Arabia. Already the powers of the religious police have been curbed, enforcement of gender segregation has been relaxed and women have been granted some more freedoms, including the right to drive cars starting next year. Rai is now the second Christian patriarch to visit the country, after another such trip in 1975. His trip was planned before the current political crisis in Lebanon and he said the original invitation had been extended in 2013.

While symbols of Christianity are banned in Saudi Arabia, Al Rai was seen openly wearing a cross and being greeted by one of the kingdom’s most influential ministers, a leading Saudi minister, Thamer Al Sabhan. The photos hint at the rapid change under way in the kingdom under Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. On top of his promise to revolutionise the oil-dependent Saudi economy, and reboot a traditionally cautious foreign policy, the 32-year-old also says he’ll change the religious basis of Saudi society — stamping out extremism and ushering in a “moderate” version of Islam. This visit also comes at an important time where Saudi Arabia is moving fast to collect allies to help combat the rapid and aggressive expansionism of Iran in the region. Visits by leaders of religious orders are rare in Saudi Arabia, where the practice of any religion besides Islam is officially illegal. Mr Al Rai’s trip was the first to Saudi by a Christian patriarch in more than 40 years, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Lebanon’s Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, head of the Maronite Church, met on Tuesday with Saad Hariri, who announced his resignation as Lebanon’s prime minister from Riyadh on Nov. 4.  Saad Hariri said he would return to Lebanon within days as his office refuted claims from an Iranian official regarding his last meeting in Lebanon before he resigned as prime minister. Writing on Twitter, Mr Hariri said he was fine and urged Lebanese to remain calm. He said his family would stay in Saudi Arabia, calling it "their country", from where he announced his resignation last week. "Patriarch Bechara Al Rahi's … visit stresses the kingdom's approach for peaceful coexistence, closeness and openness for all sections of Arabic people," Saudi Gulf Affairs minister, Thamer Al Sabhan, said on Twitter.

Exclusive: How Saudi Arabia turned on Lebanon's Hariri

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Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry - Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - From the moment Saad al-Hariri’s plane touched down in Saudi Arabia on Friday Nov. 3, he was in for a surprise. There was no line-up of Saudi princes or ministry officials, as would typically greet a prime minister on an official visit to King Salman, senior sources close to Hariri and top Lebanese political and security officials said. His phone was confiscated, and the next day he was forced to resign as prime minister in a statement broadcast by a Saudi-owned TV channel. The move thrust Lebanon back to the forefront of a struggle that is reshaping the Middle East, between the conservative Sunni monarchy of Saudi Arabia and Shi‘ite revolutionary Iran. Their rivalry has fueled conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, where they back opposing sides, and now risks destabilizing Lebanon, where Saudi has long tried to weaken the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Lebanon’s main political power and part of the ruling coalition. Sources close to Hariri say Saudi Arabia has concluded that the prime minister - a long-time Saudi ally and son of late prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005 - had to go because he was unwilling to confront Hezbollah. Multiple Lebanese sources say Riyadh hopes to replace Saad Hariri with his older brother Bahaa as Lebanon’s top Sunni politician. Bahaa is believed to be in Saudi Arabia and members of the Hariri family have been asked to travel there to pledge allegiance to him, but have refused, the sources say. “When Hariri’s plane landed in Riyadh, he got the message immediately that something was wrong,” a Hariri source told Reuters. “There was no one was waiting for him.” Saudi Arabia has dismissed suggestions it forced Hariri to resign and says he is a free man. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the circumstances of his arrival, whether his phone had been taken, or whether the Kingdom was planning to replace him with his brother. Hariri has given no public remarks since he resigned and no indication of when he might return to Lebanon.

“NO RESPECT”

Hariri was summoned to the Kingdom to meet Saudi King Salman in a phone call on Thursday night, Nov. 2. Before departing, he told his officials they would resume their discussions on Monday. He told his media team he would see them at the weekend in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, where he was due to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the World Youth Forum. Hariri went to his Riyadh home. His family made their fortune in Saudi Arabia and have long had properties there. The source close to Hariri said the Lebanese leader received a call from a Saudi protocol official on Saturday morning, who asked him to attend a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He waited for about four hours before being presented with his resignation speech to read on television, the source said. “From the moment he arrived they (Saudis) showed no respect for the man,” another senior Lebanese political source said. Hariri frequently visits Saudi Arabia. On a trip a few days earlier, Prince Mohammed bin Salman had arranged for him to see senior intelligence officials and Gulf Affairs Minister Thamer al-Sabhan, the Saudi point man on Lebanon. Hariri came back from that trip to Beirut “pleased and relaxed”, sources in his entourage said. He posted a selfie with Sabhan, both of them smiling. He told aides he had heard “encouraging statements” from the crown prince, including a promise to revive a Saudi aid package for the Lebanese army.

The Hariri sources say Hariri believed he had convinced Saudi officials of the need to maintain an entente with Hezbollah for the sake of Lebanon’s stability. Hezbollah has a heavily armed fighting force, in addition to seats in parliament and government. Saudi-backed efforts to weaken the group in Lebanon a decade ago led to Sunni-Shi‘ite clashes and a Hezbollah takeover of Beirut. “What happened in those meetings, I believe, is that (Hariri) revealed his position on how to deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon: that confrontation would destabilize the country. I think they didn’t like what they heard,” said one of the sources, who was briefed on the meetings. The source said Hariri told Sabhan not to “hold us responsible for something that is beyond my control or that of Lebanon.” But Hariri underestimated the Saudi position on Hezbollah, the source said. “For the Saudis it is an existential battle. It’s black and white. We in Lebanon are used to gray,” the source said. Sabhan could not immediately be reached for comment.

RESIGNATION

Hariri’s resignation speech shocked his team. Lebanese President Michel Aoun told ambassadors to Lebanon that Saudi Arabia had kidnapped Hariri, a senior Lebanese official said. On Friday, France said it wanted Hariri to have “all his freedom of movement”. In his speech, Hariri said he feared assassination and accused Iran and Hezbollah of sowing strife in the region. He said the Arab world would “cut off the hands that wickedly extend to it,” language which one source close to him said was not typical of the Lebanese leader. Hariri’s resignation came as more than 200 people, including 11 Saudi princes, current and former ministers and tycoons, were arrested in an anti-corruption purge in Saudi Arabia.

Initially there was speculation Hariri was a target of that campaign because of his family’s business interests. But sources close to the Lebanese leader said his forced resignation was motivated by Saudi efforts to counter Iran. Hariri was taken to meet the Saudi king after his resignation. Footage was aired on Saudi TV. He was then flown to Abu Dhabi to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the Saudi crown prince’s main regional ally. He returned to Riyadh and has since received Western ambassadors. Sources close to Hariri said the Saudis, while keeping Hariri under house arrest, were trying to orchestrate a change of leadership in Hariri’s Future Movement by installing his elder brother Bahaa, who was overlooked for the top job when their father was killed. The two have been at odds for years. In a statement, the Future Movement said it stood fully behind Hariri as its leader. Hariri aide and Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk dismissed the idea Bahaa was being positioned to replace his brother: “We are not herds of sheep or a plot of land whose ownership can be moved from one person to another. In Lebanon things happen though elections not pledges of allegiances.” Family members, aides and politicians who have contacted Hariri in Riyadh say he is apprehensive and reluctant to say anything beyond “I am fine”. Asked if he is coming back, they say his normal answer is: “Inshallah” (God willing). Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Nick Tattersall

Tense and tearful: Lebanese PM's 80-minute interview backfires

By Tamara Qiblawi, CNN -

Hariri chose Lebanon's Future TV, a channel he owns, for his first public remarks since he announced he would quit his post eight days before. Paula Yacoubian, one of his highest-profile TV hosts, flew to Riyadh to conduct the interview. Sunday's exchange ranged from the tense to the emotional to the downright bizarre, and has already become one of the most commented-on television spectacles in the history of Lebanese social media. "Today, Mr. Prime Minister, I am unable to convince anybody that you aren't a prisoner in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that you're not a hostage, that you're not under house arrest even though we are in your own house," said the characteristically fiery Yacoubian as she faced Hariri -- her boss. "Even I myself am being accused of being part of this theater," she added, speaking over the Prime Minister as she said it. It was an 80-minute interview that revealed a pale and somber Hariri who, despite having relinquished his national duties, appeared exhausted. "I think people who believed (Hariri) was a prisoner will not be reassured that things are fine with Hariri. He seemed to be tense. He seemed to be emotional. He cried so easily," Habib Battah, a media studies instructor at the American University of Beirut and founder of independent outlet BeirutReport.com, told CNN of the interview. "(Hariri) looked exhausted. If you think about it, he's supposedly not running a country. He's supposedly taking a break and sitting at home. Why is he so tired? Why is he so nervous? Why is he so unhappy?" blogger and long-time Lebanese media expert Claude el Khal told CNN. Since his resignation, Hariri has held several meetings with senior European and Arab officials including Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince, but there have been no public statements about them.

'You're making me very tired'

Analysts point to several moments in which Hariri seemed to confirm suspicions about his circumstances. Fifteen minutes in, he appeared to choke back tears, leading Yaacoubian to call for an early commercial break. He ended the interview by saying "You're making me very tired." One of the most widely commented on parts of the interview was Hariri's frequent sipping of water. Yaacoubian made this more pronounced by offering her own glass of water to the prime minister after his had run out. "You could see in her eyes that she felt sorry for him. It was as if she had gotten in touch with a maternal instinct," said el Khal, who noted that Yaacoubian ratcheted down her combative tone as Hariri began to get emotional. "Yesterday was a terrible moment for Lebanon no matter what you thought about Hariri," el Khal added. Lebanese social media were also awash with speculation about a person who partially appeared in the frame towards the end of the interview. He was carrying a note and Hariri appeared to be glaring at him. Some suggested that the unknown man could possibly be a captor, though analysts say he was most likely a member of Hariri's team breaking TV protoco . "It's amazing that that moment has taken on this importance. It shows you how people are easily speculating around this moment. It just shows you that we know so little and it's such a farcical situation," said Battah. "If the interview was meant to propagate a message that Hariri was in a strong position, that he was in a confident position, then it didn't really do that at all."

Fears for Lebanese economy if Saudis impose Qatar-style blockade

“BALL IN HEZBOLLAH‘S COURT”

Lebanese analyst Sarkis Naoum said Riyadh wanted Hariri to return to Lebanon and press President Michel Aoun to open dialogue and address their conditions on Hezbollah’s regional interventions. “They need to come up with a position that will be satisfactory to the Saudis ... If the Saudis decide on sanctions they will do it,” Naoum said. A source close to Hariri said he had ”put the ball in the court of Aoun, Hezbollah and its allies, by saying ‘business cannot continue as usual.’ “There was no sugar-coating. The sanctions were spelled out clearly. They want Lebanon to be disassociated from Hezbollah”. Aoun has welcomed comments that the former premier planned to return home soon, palace sources said on Monday. Saudi frustration with Lebanon seems to have boiled over after a string of setbacks to its foreign policy. Riyadh has been bogged down in the war it launched against Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen in 2015. Saudi Arabia has accused Iran and Hezbollah of backing the Houthis, and also said Hezbollah had a role in firing a ballistic missile from Yemen towards Riyadh earlier this month. Hezbollah and Iran’s involvement in Syria has also transformed the war in favor of President Bashar al-Assad, while Saudi support for Sunni rebels in Syria’s civil war have amounted to little. Hezbollah, a movement with a heavily armed fighting force in addition to seats in parliament and government, is Iran’s spearhead in the region. Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard looks to be trying to replicate it by building coalitions of militia groups in Iraq and Syria, according to some analysts. The list of potential sanctions against Lebanon, political sources there say, could include a ban on flights, visas, exports and transfer of remittances. Some of those have been imposed on Qatar, but that blockade, initiated in June, has had limited effect on the emirate so far, beyond driving it closer to Iran.

NEW SAUDI POLICY

Allegiance to foreign backers is not new to Lebanon. Sunnis have always looked to Saudi Arabia for support and funding while Shi‘ite Lebanese tended to turn to Tehran and Hezbollah. “The Lebanese have always been agents of foreign powers. They take their money, make promises, commitments and alliances,” Naoum said. But while Hezbollah fulfilled its promises to Iran, Sunni factions let Riyadh down, he said. Thanks in part to Iranian investment in the group, Hezbollah now calls the shots in the Lebanese capital as well as playing a pivotal role in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. Riyadh has historically channeled billions of dollars to Lebanon to help its reconstruction after the 1975-90 civil war and following massive Israeli incursions of south Lebanon. Now it appears ready to do serious economic damage to Lebanon that could weaken Hezbollah’s standing at home and in the region, should its demands not be met. The Saudi conditions are causing alarm among some Lebanese, who have long viewed Hezbollah as a “state-within-a-state”. Many believe the solution is outside the control of local players. “Lebanon will pay the price,” a top Lebanese banker told Reuters. “The only pressure the Saudis have is economic ... they can put pressure by imposing sanctions that can hurt.” Additional reporting by Ellen Francis and Laila Bassam; Editing by Mike Collett-White

Lebanese patriarch makes historic Saudi visit amid Hariri crisis

RIYADH (Reuters) - Lebanon’s Christian Maronite Patriarch began a historic visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday under heightened scrutiny amid political tensions that have thrust his country back to the forefront of the conflict between the Sunni kingdom and Shi‘ite rival Iran. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai heads the Maronite church, which has a presence in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus and follows an Eastern rite of the Roman Catholic church. Maronites number about 900,000 in Lebanon, around a quarter of the population.An official visit to Saudi Arabia by such a senior non-Muslim cleric is a rare act of religious openness for the kingdom, which hosts the holiest sites in Islam and bans the practice of other religions but says it wants to open up more to the world. It is also the first trip to Riyadh by a senior Lebanese official since the start of a crisis sparked by Saad al-Hariri’s resignation as Lebanese prime minister on Nov. 4 from the Saudi capital. Top Lebanese government officials and senior sources close to Hariri say Saudi Arabia coerced him into resigning and has put him under effective house arrest since he flew there more than a week ago. During his visit, Rai plans to meet Hariri as well as King Salman and his son and heir-apparent, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, both of whom he praised in an address to Lebanese living in Riyadh. “Certainly his resignation surprised the Lebanese and saddened them and created a type of deadlock,” he later told reporters between selfies with followers. “We hope that with this visit we can speak about this topic.” But Rai said his visit, which was planned before the latest crisis, was not political but aimed at boosting religious tolerance and co-existence in a region torn by sectarian conflict. Hariri said in a television interview on Sunday that he was a free man and would return to Lebanon within days to affirm that he had resigned. He said Lebanon was at risk of Gulf Arab sanctions because of the Shi‘ite group Hezbollah’s regional meddling. Asked when he expected Hariri to return to Lebanon, Rai said: “I wish tonight ... we hope as soon as possible.” Hariri’s resignation and its aftermath have destabilized his country, where Sunni, Shi‘ite, Christian and Druze factions fought a civil war from 1975-1990, often backed by rival powers around the region. The only other visit to Saudi Arabia by a Christian patriarch took place in 1975, according to the Saudi information ministry. Rai thanked King Salman for the invitation and said he had never dreamed of visiting the kingdom, which bans all non-Muslim houses of prayer, forcing Christians there to risk arrest by praying in private homes. Reporting By Stephen Kalin; Editing by Toby Chopra and Kevin Liffey

I'm free to return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia, says Saad Hariri

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Saad Hariri has pledged he will return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia “very soon,” in his first television interview since his shock resignation as prime minister eight days ago.In an interview from Riyadh with his party’s Future TV on Sunday, Hariri brushed aside rumours that he was under de facto house arrest in Saudi Arabia. “I am free here. If I want to travel tomorrow, I will,” Hariri told the journalist Paula Yacoubian. “I will return to Lebanon very soon to initiate the necessary constitutional procedures,” Hariri said. Wearing a suit and tie and with a Lebanese flag in the background, Hariri looked tired and spoke softly but firmly throughout the interview. He held back tears as he spoke. Mr Hariri recognised that he did not resign in the "usual way" but said he wanted to give his country a "positive shock". "My resignation came as a wake-up call for Lebanon," he said. "Yes, it would have been better that I come to Lebanon (to resign) but there was danger," he said. "I wrote (my resignation) with my own hand. I wanted to create a positive shock, not a negative one."

He said the unity government he formed a year ago was supposed to stick to an agreement not to interfere in regional affairs but that Hezbollah has not kept up its end of the deal. Apparently seeking to show he was not being detained by the Saudis, Hariri told the interviewer: "I am free." He said his resignation was his own decision, dismissing reports he was forced into it. But he also said he is looking into security arrangements before returning to Lebanon, suggesting his life was in danger. "I saw what happened ... when my father was martyred. I don't want the same thing to happen to me," Hariri said. His father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 2005.

 Speculation has been rife that Saudi Arabia summoned Hariri to Riyadh and broadsided him with a demand to resign because he wouldn’t confront Lebanon’s powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group -- a charge the kingdom has denied. The political turmoil has thrust Lebanon to the fore of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry after it managed to avoid the worst of the Syrian civil war next door, creating a potential new center of conflict in the tumultuous Middle East. At least 5 Lebanese TV channels including NBN, NewTV, TeleLiban, OTV wouldn’t broadcast the Hariri interview, adopting President Michel Aoun’s position that given Hariri’s circumstances, “his words will not reflect the truth. Just hours before Hariri’s interview, Aoun blasted the “obscure circumstances” around the resigned prime minister’s stay in Riyadh. In a statement from his office, Aoun said: “Hariri’s freedom has been restricted and conditions have been imposed regarding his residence and the contacts he may have, even with members of his family.”

BEIRUT (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Sunday he hopes Saad al-Hariri, who announced last week from Saudi Arabia that he was resigning as prime minister of Lebanon, returns to Beirut "without further delay".

At Beirut Marathon, Lebanese Call for PM to Return

BEIRUT —  Thousands of Lebanese taking part in the country's annual marathon used the event to call on Prime Minister Saad Hariri to return home after he resigned under mysterious circumstances during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Hariri was a regular participant in the marathon, giving the international sports event a big boost. This year, President Michel Aoun had encouraged runners to call on Hariri to return. Many Lebanese suspect he was placed under house arrest as part of a Saudi plan to unravel a coalition government he had formed with Hezbollah last year.
  Spectators along the 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometer) course wore hats and held signs reading "Running for you" and "Waiting for you." Large billboards with pictures of Hariri rose overhead, and a local TV station re-aired an hour-long profile and interview with Hariri recorded last year.

One woman raised a placard reading: "We want our prime minister back." Ibrahim al-Masri, a 37-year-old Hariri supporter, said the Lebanese don't know if the prime minister is staying in Saudi Arabia by choice. "Whatever he chooses, we are with him. We want him to first come to Lebanon. We will die for him," al-Masri said. Joanne Hamza, a physical education teacher who was wearing a cap with a picture of Hariri on it, said he was missed at the race. "But in a sense, his absence has been unifying. All Lebanese, from all sects, are missing their leader. This is somehow reassuring but we still want him with us."

Despite extremely warm conditions, Kenya’s Dominic Ruto took 23 seconds off the race record to win the men’s race in 2:10:41, while Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba ran 2:28:38 to improve the women’s record by more than half a minute.  Ruto overcame his favoured compatriot and defending champion Edwin Kiptoo to capture first place and the US$10,000 prize money. He out-sprinted Adane Amsalu on the finishing straight to beat the Ethiopian by four seconds, while Kiptoo could manage only third in 2:11:56.

I'm free to return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia, says Saad Hariri

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by AFP - Saad Hariri has pledged he will return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia “very soon,” in his first television interview since his shock resignation as prime minister eight days ago.In an interview from Riyadh with his party’s Future TV on Sunday, Hariri brushed aside rumours that he was under de facto house arrest in Saudi Arabia. “I am free here. If I want to travel tomorrow, I will,” Hariri told the journalist Paula Yacoubian. “I will return to Lebanon very soon to initiate the necessary constitutional procedures,” Hariri said.

Just hours before Hariri’s interview, Aoun blasted the “obscure circumstances” around the resigned prime minister’s stay in Riyadh. In a statement from his office, Aoun said: “Hariri’s freedom has been restricted and conditions have been imposed regarding his residence and the contacts he may have, even with members of his family.”

These are the up-and-coming princes poised to take control in Saudi Arabia

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by Simon Henderson, Foreign Policy  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to be shredding our understanding about how Saudi Arabia is ruled. Seeking to consolidate his power, he threw caution and consensus-building — the traditional techniques of Saudi leadership — out the window months ago, proceeding instead with almost reckless speed and an apparent disregard for winning the support of his uncles and numerous cousins. The arrests last weekend of a reported 11 princes on charges of corruption suggests the royal family, the House of Saud, is no longer above the law. The commentary over Mohammed bin Salman’s recent moves has been divided between predictions that he is leading the country toward dictatorship or toward family revolt. But a careful examination of Mohammed bin Salman’s actions and statements over the last year suggest that he is more calculating than impetuous. The Saudi attorney general said this week that the corruption investigations had been going on for three years, while Mohammed bin Salman mentioned the wide-ranging crackdown on corruption in a May interview. “I assure you that any person involved in a corruption case, whether minister, prince, or whatever, will not escape,” he said. Meanwhile, since April, Mohammed bin Salman, now 32, has been quietly orchestrating the appointments of a range of young princes in their late twenties or thirties to positions of power. They will likely be crucial to the success of his remodeling of the kingdom and could emerge as arbiters of power for decades to come. They are all either the grandsons or great grandsons of the kingdom’s founder, Ibn Saud, who died in 1953. Mohammed bin Salman is entirely prudent in promoting these younger cousins, appealing to their ambition and vanity, and securing their loyalty. It is a good way of internalizing any competition between family lines — Ibn Saud had more than 40 sons, and the number of grandsons is in the hundreds. Mohammed bin Salman’s actions have so far forestalled a collective family revolt, proving once again the utility of that old adage: divide and conquer. As in all monarchies, bloodline is often more important than competence for prospective leaders in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed bin Salman probably wants to promote talent — but will also be paying attention to how to deflect resentment or the hint of opposition. Promoting sons can take some of the pain out of fathers being sidelined. The House of Saud has witnessed difficult transitions before. What’s different this time is that age is no longer equivalent to seniority and instead may have become a handicap. Comparative youth necessarily means a relative lack of experience but that is a risk which Mohammed bin Salman seems to have decided he can handl

Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, sits in a fighter jet at an air base, in the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia, in this undated handout photo provided by Saudi Royal Court. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTE

Here's who to watch

The young up-and-coming princes to watch are (in alphabetical order)

Abdulaziz bin Fahd is a great-grandson of Ibn Saud and deputy governor of the Jawf region, bordering Jordan, since June 2017. His father, a soldier, was made commander of Saudi ground forces in April 2017.

Faisal bin Sattam was appointed ambassador to Italy in June 2017. He had shown early sympathy for the rise of Mohammed bin Salman: As a member of the Allegiance Council (the grouping of senior family members), he voted against Prince Muqrin becoming deputy crown prince in 2014, an early sign of belonging to the Salman camp. (Muqrin became crown prince on King Abdullah’s death in January 2015 but was replaced by King Salman three months later. The late King Abdullah is reported to have schemed to replace Muqrin with Salman, thereby creating an opening as crown prince for the king’s son Miteb, who was sacked as national guard minister last weekend and is one of those detained.)

Abdulaziz bin Saud is the 30-year-old interior minister, appointed in June 2017. He replaced his full uncle and the then-crown prince, Muhammad bin Nayef, who was forced to resign. Abdulaziz bin Saud’s father is governor of the oil-rich Eastern Province, where Saudi Shiites form a local majority. His new powers were curtailed within days of his appointment by the transfer of some of his responsibilities to a new state security organization. If he was upset, he didn’t show it publicly.

Abdulaziz bin Turki, 34, is deputy chairman of the General Sport Authority, appointed June 2017. His father, Turki bin Faisal, served as ambassador in Washington and London, as well as head of the kingdom’s external intelligence body, the General Intelligence Presidency. Of late, Turki bin Faisal has engaged in public discussions with former Israeli officials.

Ahmed bin Fahd, a great-grandson of Ibn Saud, was appointed deputy governor of the Eastern Province in April 2017. His father, who had been deputy governor of the Eastern Province from 1986 to 1993, died in 2001.

Bandar bin Khalid, 52, was appointed advisor to the royal court in June 2017. His father is governor of Mecca Province

Khalid bin Bandar was appointed ambassador to Germany in June 2017. He is the Oxford-educated son of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former ambassador to the United States who cultivated ties with multiple American presidents

Khalid bin Salman, 29, was appointed as the Saudi ambassador to Washington this year. He is a former F-15 pilot and full brother of Mohammed bin Salman.

Saud bin Khalid was appointed deputy governor of Medina in April 201

Turki bin Muhammad, 38, was appointed advisor to the royal court in June 2017. His father, a son of the late King Fahd, was governor of the Eastern Province from 1985 to 2013.

A prince who just a week ago would have made this list was Mansour bin Muqrin, the deputy governor of Asir Province who was killed a helicopter crash on Nov. 5. He had served as deputy governor since 2013 and was made advisor to King Salman in April 2015, when his father was pushed from the position of crown prince. There is considerable speculation that he disliked Mohammed bin Salman, which is plausible because his father had been sidelined. An additional rumor is that his death was not accidental, for which, as yet, there is no evidence.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia. Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Here's who is missing

This list of princes is also notable for who is absent. It does not include any sons or grandsons of the late King Abdullah, and only one grandson of King Fahd. Any direct relatives of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, one of the so-called Sudairi Seven, are also absent. The omission is easily explicable: Ahmad is thought to have voted in the Allegiance Council against the appointment of Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince in June this year. Mohammed bin Salman clearly sees himself, and is seen by his father, as the next king of Saudi Arabia. The latest rumor is that the change may happen as soon as this weekend. Traditionally, the success of his transition would depend as much as anything on acceptance and support in the wider royal family, but Mohammed bin Salman’s impatience and ambition suggest that won’t be an option. Instead, his authority will rely on the backing of those in this list. Another group that could prove crucial is princes in the military. These are harder to identify and are essentially in their positions to stop coups. A 1985 State Department cable released by WikiLeaks is rather dated but provides a good overview. “The mere presence of princes in the Armed Forces provides some degree of stability to the Al Saud regime,” it concludes. King Salman is thought to see Mohammed bin Salman as a modern-day Ibn Saud, a potentially great leader with huge ambition, and much more promising than any other, older potential contenders for the throne. But even Mohammed bin Salman appears to realize that, in order to transform his kingdom’s economy and cope with the challenges of regional chaos, he must be the leader of a royal team. Simon Henderson is the Baker fellow and director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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Lebanese president presses Saudi to say why Hariri has not returned

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by Ellen Francis  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s president called on Saudi Arabia on Saturday to clarify why Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri could not return home, a week after he stunned his country by resigning while in the kingdom. A senior Lebanese official said President Michel Aoun had told foreign ambassadors Hariri had been “kidnapped” and should have immunity. Hariri’s shock resignation has thrust Lebanon back into the frontline of a power struggle between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi‘ite Iran - a rivalry that has wrought upheaval in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Bahrain. .

“Lebanon does not accept its prime minister being in a situation at odds with international treaties,” Aoun said in a statement. He said any comment or move by Hariri “does not reflect reality” due to the questions over his status following his resignation in a broadcast from Saudi Arabia. Lebanese authorities believe Riyadh is detaining Hariri who flew to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 3, two top Lebanese government officials, a senior politician close to Hariri and a fourth source have said. French President Emmanuel Macron echoed similar concerns, saying in a call with Aoun on Saturday that “Lebanese political leaders should enjoy freedom of movement”. Macron, who made an unscheduled visit to Riyadh earlier this week, will receive the Lebanese foreign minister in Paris on Tuesday, the Elysee statement said. Riyadh says Hariri is free and decided to resign because Iran’s Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, was calling the shots in his coalition government.

Hariri has made no public remarks since quitting last week, when he said he feared assassination and accused Iran along with Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world. Hariri, whose family made its fortune in the Saudi construction industry, has also given no sign of when he might return to Beirut. The Lebanese premier took part in a ceremony in Riyadh on Saturday welcoming Saudi King Salman from Medina, his media office said. Hariri met with the Turkish and British ambassadors at his Riyadh home in the afternoon, it said. Sources close to Hariri say Saudi Arabia has concluded that the prime minister - a long-time Saudi ally - had to go because he was unwilling to confront Hezbollah. His phone was confiscated after he arrived in Riyadh, and the next day he was forced to resign on a Saudi TV channel, senior sources close to Hariri and top Lebanese political and security officials said.

Aoun wants Saudi Arabia, “with which we have brotherly ties and deeply rooted friendship, to clarify the reasons preventing Prime Minister Hariri’s return,” his office said. France and other Western countries have looked on with alarm at the rising tensions in the region. “We would like Saad al-Hariri to have all his freedom of movement and be fully able to play the essential role that is his in Lebanon,” a French foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday. Hariri’s resignation unraveled a political deal among Lebanon’s rival factions that made him prime minister and Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, president last year. The coalition government included Shi‘ite Hezbollah, a heavily armed military and political organization. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that Saudi had declared war on Lebanon and his group, accusing Riyadh of forcing Hariri to resign to destabilize Lebanon. The comments mirrored an accusation by Riyadh earlier this week that Lebanon and Hezbollah had declared war on the Gulf Arab kingdom. Hariri’s political party denounced on Saturday Iranian intervention in Arab countries and attacks against Saudi Arabia. The Future Movement party said it stands by the premier and was “waiting impatiently for his return to Lebanon to handle his national responsibilities in leading this stage.” In a statement, the United States called Hariri “a trusted partner” and referred to him as prime minister. The White House “rejects any efforts by militias within Lebanon or by any foreign forces to threaten Lebanon’s stability ... or use Lebanon as a base from which to threaten others in the region,” it said. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had told reporters on Friday there was no indication Hariri was being held against his will but that the United States was monitoring the situation. The resignation of Hariri comes amid an anti-corruption purge in Riyadh in which dozens of senior princes and businessmen have been rounded up. Additional reporting by Laila Bassam; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Hugh Lawson