Western intelligence warned Lebanon’s Hariri of death plot, report claims

Western sources said that the motorcade of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned last week, had detected jamming attempts, pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Sunday.

They added that the jamming devices, which are designed to confuse radars and AWACS, turned out to be Iranian-made.

The newspaper, citing unnamed sources close to Hariri, said that Western intelligence agencies warned the former PM of an assassination plot against him.

Asharq al-Awsat reported that the sources “revealed that he had received Western warnings of an assassination attempt that was prepared against him”. It did not give further details of the alleged plot.

Hariri announced his surprise resignation on Saturday, citing a plot to kill him, and saying the climate in Lebanon resembled that before the assassination of his father Rafik al-Hariri, who was also prime minister, in 2005.

He criticized Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah for their role in Lebanon and other Arab countries.

Hariri traveled to Riyadh on Friday and did not return to Lebanon. His resignation was made in a televised statement from Saudi Arabia.

Asharq al-Awsat reported the same unnamed sources as speculating that Hariri would probably remain outside Lebanon because of the security threat against him.

(With Reuters)