Lebanon’s Prime Minister-in-limbo, Saad Hariri, has broken his silence more than a week after he announced his shock resignation from the Saudi Arabian capital.

He attempted to dismiss reports he has been held by his Saudi patrons under some form of duress and foreshadowed greater confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

He said he was “completely free” in Saudi Arabia and could leave any time he wished.

But hours before the interview went to air, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said the Saudis have imposed restrictions on Mr Hariri’s movement and contact with his family, and cast doubt on his ability to speak frankly.

Mr Hariri repeated his claim of an assassination plot against him, saying he had been “infiltrated” and didn’t want to share the fate of his father, former prime minister Rafic Hariri, who was killed in a massive car bomb in 2005.

Choking back tears, he said he would return to Lebanon “very soon” to formally tender his resignation.

But if Mr Hariri is not a hostage of the Saudis, he is hostage to their cause.

He said he could not continue to serve in a power-sharing Government with Hezbollah because its participation in regional conflicts violated an agreement to stay out of them.

Saudi Arabia is ‘in the eye of the storm’

Hezbollah is fighting in Syria to shore up the Government of Bashar al Assad. It’s also active in Iraq and Mr Hariri said it was active in Yemen.

Mr Aoun raised concerns over Mr Hariri’s freedom to leave Saudi Arabia. Photo: ABC

In all cases it is backing the interests of Iran and opposing those of the Saudis, and Mr Hariri said he could understand the Saudis being hostile to Lebanon while Hezbollah is in its Government.

“I wanted to give Lebanon a wake-up call so that we all know that we are in a dangerous position,” he said.

“We are in the eye of the storm.”

“[I] can’t be the only one making concessions while the others do whatever they want,” he said.

Of course, Hezbollah was active in Syria when Mr Hariri formed the Government last year.

With elections due next year, he may now need to clear the decks and motivate his Sunni base, keeping his distance from Hezbollah, which is rooted in the Shiite community.

But a disappearing act is an unconventional way to look like a winner, or a leader.

Since Mr Hariri formed the Government with Hezbollah, the earth has also shifted in Saudi Arabia, with the elevation of Mohammad bin Salman as Crown Prince.

“MbS” as he is known, has just locked up dozens of rival royals and businessmen in a sweeping move to consolidate power and guarantee his succession.

And he is ratcheting up the kingdom’s long running confrontation with Iran.

Prior to Mr Hariri’s resignation, a senior Saudi official warned the kingdom would take a hostile approach to Lebanon while Hezbollah is sharing power, but Mr Hariri lacks the political or military muscle to oust Hezbollah, which is by far the strongest player in Lebanese politics.

And as Mr Hariri was giving his interview, news spread that the Saudis have asked the Arab League to convene an urgent meeting to discuss Iranian activity.

Taken together, Mohammed bin Salman’s ruthless air war in Yemen, the blockade of Saudi’s neighbour Qatar and the purge paint a picture of a young ruler in waiting who is willing to risk regional instability as well as internal tension to ram through his vision of what the Middle East and his own country should look like.

However, he is quickly finding the limits to power.

The air war has bogged down and led to credible accusations of war crimes against the Saudis.

The blockade of Qatar has failed to bring the tiny country to heel and shattered the Gulf Cooperation Council.

And the purge, billed as an anti-corruption drive, has sent shockwaves through the commercial sector and made international investors nervous because Saudi Arabia’s economy is built on nepotism and corruption.

Up against all of that Mr Hariri’s resignation may look like small fish.

But the episode has stripped his supporters in Lebanon of their leader, credibility and dignity — all essential assets as the Saudis ramp up a confrontation with Iran that their Lebanese friends are not well placed to fight.

– ABC