Iran says Saudi meddling in Lebanon 'unprecedented'

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani criticised Saudi Arabia on Wednesday over what he called "unprecedented" interference in Lebanese affairs and added his voice to those who suspect the Gulf kingdom forced Lebanon's prime minister to resign.

Rouhani's remarks followed a phone call to his Lebanese counterpart the previous day, in which the Iranian president pledged Tehran's support for Lebanon's stability following the resignation of the Saudi-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The surprise resignation, announced on TV from Saudi Arabia, threw the Lebanese government into disarray and exposed a new front for the tensions between the regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Lebanon's president, Michel Aoun, told Lebanese politicians that Hariri's resignation will not be accepted until he hears from him directly.

"Unprecedented event"

According to Rouhani's official website, the Iranian president said that "there is no case in history that a country forces another one's authority to resign only to interfere (in) their internal affairs."

"Why are you interfering with Lebanon's internal affairs and governance," Rouhani said, addressing Saudi Arabia. 

"This is an unprecedented event in history."

Hariri unexpectedly announced he was resigning on Saturday and accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah of holding Lebanon hostage. 

The resignation was followed by harsh Saudi official statements, including accusations against the Lebanese government of waging war on the kingdom. 

Iranian officials called the resignation a "plot" by the United States, Israel and the Saudis to foment tensions in Lebanon and the region.

Casting himself as the voice of reason, Rouhani also questioned the benefits of Saudi Arabia's "hostility toward the peoples of the region" and urged the kingdom to choose "friendship" instead.

"You are making mistake if you think Iran is not your friend and the US and Israel are your friends," Rouhani also said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

"This is a strategic miscalculation."

Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been intensifying its confrontation with Iran. 

The two camps support rival sides in countries across the region, as well as in the wars in Yemen and Syria.

"Sedition"

In his call to Aoun late Tuesday, Rouhani said Iran firmly believes the Lebanese people will overcome "this sedition" and "will not allow Lebanon to become a battlefield for foreign powers and an opportunity for the terrorists to re-emerge."

According to Rouhani's website, Aoun told him that Lebanon is going through a "difficult" situation but that peace is still in place despite "some very weak voices that want to create tensions."

Washington has said it had no indication beforehand that Hariri would resign and pledged to continue US support for the Lebanese government.

"Our relationship with the government will not change," US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday. 

Rouhani warns Riyadh of Tehran's 'might'

Rouhani also warned Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that it will achieve nothing by threatening the might of Iran, as a war of words between the regional heavyweights intensified.

"You know the might and place of the Islamic republic. People more powerful than you have been unable to do anything against the Iranian people," Rouhani said.

"The United States and their allies have mobilised all their capabilities against us and achieved nothing."

Earlier, this week Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused Iran of delivering missiles to Yemeni rebels for use against targets in the kingdom that he described as "direct military aggression."

Iran strongly denied supplying any missiles to the rebels saying that it would have been impossible to do so in any case in the face of a Saudi-led air and sea blockade.