Saudi Arabia’s ‘Game of Thrones’ In Lebanon

The sudden resignation of Saad Hariri as Lebanon’s prime minister during his trip to Riyadh earlier this month raised suspicions about whether Saudi Arabia facilitated Hariri’s departure as part of its broader strategy to counter Iran’s expanding influence across the Middle East. This event could foment instability inside Lebanon and could earmark the country as the next proxy battleground between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In his televised resignation address delivered from Riyadh on November 4, Hariri listed several complaints against Iran and Hezbollah – a U.S. designated terrorist group based in southern Lebanon that maintains strong ties to Iran – and spelled out conditions for Beirut to avoid Saudi-imposed sanctions, which include preventing Hezbollah from meddling in Yemen and other regional conflicts.

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