Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri slammed Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group for meddling in Arab affairs and says "Iran's arms in the region will be cut off."

Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri slammed Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group for meddling in Arab affairs and says “Iran’s arms in the region will be cut off.”  (REUTERS)

BEIRUT –  Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri has announced he is resigning in a surprise move following a trip to Saudi Arabia.

 In a televised address Saturday, he slammed Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group for meddling in Arab affairs and says “Iran’s arms in the region will be cut off.”

Hariri was appointed prime minister in late 2016 and headed a 30-member national unity cabinet that included the Shiite militant Hezbollah.

 The government has largely succeeded in protecting the country from the effects of the civil war in neighboring Syria.

Hariri’s resignation Saturday is expected to raise tensions in the country. In his speech, he suggested he feared for his life and said the atmosphere in the country is similar to the one that existed before his father, the late prime minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.