Changing political landscape in Lebanon, Syria prompts Saad Hariri's comeback

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Lebanon's Sunni leader and former prime minister, Saad Hariri, who suspended his political activity more than three years ago, made a comeback on Friday amid changing political landscape marked by the weakening of Iran-backed Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar Assad's ouster.

Hezbollah and Syria under Assad were accused of having masterminded and executed the assassination of his father and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a massive truck-bomb explosion that targeted his convoy on Feb.14, 2005, in Beirut.

Addressing tens of thousands of his followers who flocked from different Lebanese regions to Beirut's Martyr's Square, where his slain father is buried, Saad Hariri said that 20 years ago they "asked for justice" and succeeded in forcing Syrian troops to withdraw from the country, ending their nearly 30-year presence.

He also referred to the "heroic" Syrian people who "rose up" and ousted Assad last December after "30 years of sectarian rule, suffering, injustice, killing, arrest, torture and brutality."

"Perhaps this is the beginning of justice, and perhaps this is its end," Hariri said. "In both cases, you have seen that if the justice of the Earth does not do us justice, no one can escape the justice of God."

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the first tribunal of international character to prosecute terrorist crimes, convicted Selim Ayyach, a high-ranking Hezbollah member, for Hariri's assassination.

Ayyach, who reportedly was killed in an Israeli strike near the Syrian city of al-Qusayr last year, and three other Hezbollah members, who were acquitted, were tried in absentia.

A fifth defendant, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, died in Syria in 2016 and was dropped from the indictment. He was described by prosecutors as "controller of the operation" to assassinate Hariri.

But the tribunal failed to determine who ordered the killing at a time when the militant group kept denying any link.

Saad Hariri, who came to power when he was chosen to succeed his slain father, decided to withdraw from politics in January 2022 after he was convinced that there was "no room for any positive opportunity for Lebanon with Iranian influence."

He said Friday that he was the only political leader who took part of the responsibility for the many major crises that "exhausted the Lebanese" over the past 20 years.

"We assumed our responsibility with courage, submitted my resignation and suspended political work ... for 3 years or more," he said.

"But the crises increased, and the most dangerous one was the recent Israeli war" against Hezbollah that resulted in the killing and injury of more than 20,000 people in Lebanon and large destruction in Beirut's southern suburbs, southern and eastern Lebanon.

The once-powerful Hezbollah was greatly weakened after suffering devastating blows during 14 months of a destructive war with Israel that killed its top leaders and dismantled its military infrastructure.

The war, which started in October 2023 in support of Gaza, ended with a U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement Nov 27.

Hariri said Lebanon now has "a golden opportunity" to rebuild the country and be "a normal state," as well as to secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from villages they still occupy in south Lebanon.

He called on the Shiite community that supports Hezbollah to engage as "partners" in the process.

Hariri said his Future Movement will remain and "will be the voice" of his followers in all national elections, referring to the upcoming municipality elections scheduled for next May and the parliamentary elections in May 2026.

His comments indicated that he decided to re-engage his political party, but it was not clear whether or when he would return to politics. He has been living in the United Arab Emirates since 2022.

Mustafa Allouch, former deputy head of the Future Movement, said Hariri's decision was "the start," but it is yet to be seen the steps that he will take.

Allouch, however, noted that he did not refer to Hezbollah's role in his father's killing "may be for some internal political reasons."

"Hariri was always convinced that Bashar Assad was the main one behind the assassination of his father," he told UPI, adding that Assad who fled to Russia was "out of the equation" now while the Iranian regime "is close to fall[ing]."

It was not clear whether Hariri, who quit politics three years ago after he was reportedly abandoned by his main backer, Saudi Arabia, and his internal allies, secured an Arab "cover" for his return.

"The big changes in Lebanon and the region are the reasons behind his return to politics ... nothing else," Allouch said, explaining that Hariri misinterpreted the Saudi "indifference" at that time as "unwillingness to support him."

Hariri, who once enjoyed strong support from the Saudi oil-rich kingdom, might be able to win Riyadh back on his side after a large crowd of his followers reconfirmed their allegiance to him as a Sunni and national leader.

"Would Saudi Arabia be affected by that? ... I don't know," Allouch said.

Hariri's relationship with the regional heavyweight initially deteriorated because of his conciliatory attitude while in power toward Hezbollah, whose leaders used to harshly criticize and insult Saudi rulers.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon have also strained over the past years because of Riyadh's mounting concerns over Lebanon drifting away from its Arab arena and adopting Hezbollah positions, in addition to the continuous smuggling of drugs from Lebanon to the kingdom and other Gulf countries.

The weakening of Hezbollah, and consequently Iran in Lebanon, and the disruption of drug smuggling from Syria via Lebanon after Assad's overthrow, have completely changed the scene.

Saudi Arabia was now willing to help Lebanon reconstruct its war-ravaged regions and revive its ailing economy, but on the condition that it finally implements required and necessary reforms.