Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan said on Monday that Lebanon “will not be the same after the resignation” of Prime Minister Saad Hariri adding that “it is in the hands of its leaders to either be a State of terrorism or peace.”

“Lebanon in the wake of the resignation will never be the same after,” stated Sabhan on his Twitter account on Monday.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri's “shock” resignation “was not driven” by the situation in Lebanon but came “within the framework of the conflicts in the region,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

On the dimensions of the resignation, well-informed Lebanese sources close to Arab and Gulf circles said that “Hariri's sudden resignation does not come within the context of the situation in Lebanon but comes in the context of the conflicts in the region and conflicts in the regimes,” the daily quoted the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran rejected Saturday what it called "unfounded accusations" by Lebanon's resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who stepped down earlier in the day citing Tehran's "grip" on Lebanon and threats to his life.

Hariri's "repetition of unreal and baseless accusations... against Iran show that the resignation is designed to create tensions in Lebanon and in the region," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi said.

Lebanese political figures reacted on Saturday to a surprise resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri which he announced from Saudi Arabia citing Iranian “influence” in Lebanon and expressing fears of being assassinated.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday, in an unforeseen move, announced his resignation from the Lebanese government, stressing that “Iran's hands in the region will be cut off.”

In a televised appearance from Saudi Arabia, Hariri said: “Wherever Iran is present it plants discord and destruction attested to by its interference in the Arab countries.”

Speaker Nabih Berri said that the best thing in the proportional representation parliamentary electoral law is that it “eliminates” any bid aiming to prevent holding the polls, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

The visit of Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Saudi Arabia took the spotlight again, mainly because it is his second trip to the Kingdom in a matter of days and came after a meeting at the Grand Serail with the Iranian senior adviser to international affairs Ali Akbar Velayati, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan on Friday said the expected visit of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to Saudi Arabia affirms the Kingdom's “open approach.”

Iranian senior adviser to international affairs Ali Akbar Velayati said after talks with Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday that Iran “protects Lebanon's stability and government.”

“Iran protects the stability of Lebanon and its government and welcomes its independence,” said Velayati from the Grand Serail where he met the Premier.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday likened to “piracy” the attempts of some political parties to strain Lebanon's ties with Arab countries.