Hariri made the remarks in Davos during a panel at the World Economic Forum (WEF), CNBC reported.

“I as a prime minister would like the best relationship with Iran, but I would like it to be, state to state. Not for somebody to invest in Lebanon without telling me on this issue, like Hezbollah or others. Iran presents a challenge in the region maybe, but dialogue also is a part of resolving this issue,” Hariri told the attendees.

“Iran is a country that we need to deal with. Each nation must understand how it wants to deal with Iran,” he said.

Hariri has taken a harsh stance toward Iran since he announced his resignation in November from Riyadh. He accused Iran of sowing “fear and destruction” in several countries, including Lebanon.

Many thought that he was forced to do that by the Saudi Kingdom. After returning to Lebanon, Hariri rescinded his resignation.

‘Tehran-Washington conflicts bad for Iraq’

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi also addressed the WEF, warning that any conflict between Tehran and Washington is bad for Iraq.

Pointing to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, al Abadi said: “It is very important to keep it intact. Any claim between the U.S. and Iran, any conflict is bad for Iraq. The nuclear deal is beyond us but good relations between them is important. Through the cracks Daesh (ISIS) was able to come through. We don’t want any more polarization. It is bad for all of us in the region.”

He said he asked all sides to keep their differences away from Iraq when helping the country.

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Prime Minister Hariri abruptly declared his resignation from a then-unknown location in Saudi Arabia and from Saudi-owned television on November 4, accusing Iran and Hezbollah of interfering in the region and signaling that that was his reason to quit.

But Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who suspected early on that Hariri had resigned of his free will, refused to accept his resignation and demanded his return from Saudi Arabia first. Lebanese intelligence sources soon concluded that Hariri was under restrictions in Riyadh.

That drama ended when Hariri returned to Lebanon on November 22 — partially after a diplomatic intervention by France — and rescinded his resignation on December 5.

While some details had already emerged of the circumstances of Hariri’s three-week stay in Saudi Arabia, more appeared in a Sunday report by The New York Times, which used information from “a dozen Western, Lebanese and regional officials and associates of Mr. Hariri” to draw a better picture of what happened to him in Riyadh.

Hariri, who reached a power-sharing deal with Hezbollah in 2016 and who had formerly attempted to convince Riyadh of the need to work with Hezbollah, met with Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior Iranian adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, on November 3.

“That may have been the last straw for the Saudis,” the report said, adding, ” Within hours, Mr. Hariri received a message from the Saudi king — come now — ahead of a meeting that had been scheduled days later.”

A well-connected Lebanese analyst was cited as saying that Hariri was also invited to spend a day in the desert with the prince.

“But when he (Hariri) landed in Riyadh, Saudi officials took Mr. Hariri to his house and told him to wait — not for the king, but for the prince. He waited, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. No one came,” it said.

The next morning, he was “summoned at 8:30 a.m. to the Saudi royal offices — unseemly early, by the kingdom’s standards.”

Thinking that he would go camping with the prince, Hariri wore jeans and a T-shirt to the Saudi royal offices.

“But instead he was stripped of his cellphones, separated from all but one of his usual cluster of bodyguards, and shoved and insulted by Saudi security officers,” the report said. “Then came the ultimate indignity: He was handed a prewritten resignation speech and forced to read it on Saudi television.”

“Before going on TV, he was not even allowed to go to the house he owns there; he had to ask guards to bring him a suit.”

‘Down the hall from the prince’s office’

Information on what happened between Hariri’s arrival in Riyadh and the resignation is missing. The Times cited Lebanese officials as describing that interval as the “black box.”

“They (the Lebanese officials) said they were reluctant to press Mr. Hariri for details. When asked, one of them said, Mr. Hariri just looked down at the table and said it was worse than they knew.”

Hariri, who runs a private business in Saudi Arabia, was “manhanded” by Saudi officials and was also threatened that he would face “corruption charges,” according to one official.

He read the resignation speech he had been given “from a room an official said was down the hall from the prince’s office.”

‘Our prime minister has been detained’

“Lebanese officials,” the report said, “began making the rounds to puzzled Western diplomats with an unusual message: We have reason to believe our prime minister has been detained.”

Hariri “was eventually placed with Saudi guards in a guesthouse on his own property, forbidden to see his wife and children.”

Some Western diplomats were allowed to meet with the Lebanese prime minister there. “There were two Saudi guards in the room [during those meetings]… and when the diplomats asked if the guards could leave, Mr. Hariri said no, they could stay.”

Opposite effect

The drama was seen as a Saudi attempt to disrupt the political balance in Lebanon to the disadvantage of Hezbollah, which shared power both in the parliament and Hariri’s government with other Lebanese factions.

The Times report pointed to how Mohammed bin Salman was looking to use Hariri as a “pawn” against Iran, “as if he were an employee [of Riyadh] and not a sovereign leader.”

But instead, the Lebanese people of all political inclinations soon came out with massive support for their prime minister, demanding that he safely return and continue work. Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also voiced support for Hariri.

The report said Western officials were wondering what Saudi Arabia “hoped to accomplish with all this intrigue.”

“Several do not rule out the possibility that they aimed to foment internal unrest in Lebanon, or even war.”

Mohammed bin Salman has orchestrated a war on Yemen already. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading a number of its allies in pounding Yemen — already the Arab world’s poorest state — causing famine and a cholera epidemic there.

The report said Saudi [Persian] Gulf Affairs Minister Thaber al-Sabhan, who is believed to have been a key figure in the Hariri scheme, “got a withering reception” on a visit later to Washington, where US officials “demanded that Mr. Sabhan explain why Riyadh was destabilizing Lebanon.”

Prime Minister Hariri, in the meantime, has been continuing work with renewed support and stronger unity among Lebanese people and political groups.

“Now, Mr. Hariri remains in office with new popularity, and Hezbollah is stronger than before,” the Times said.

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“Matters are positive, as you hear, and if this positivity continues, we will announce, God willing, to Lebanese next week with President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri the withdrawal of the resignation,” said a statement released by Hariri’s press office on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, a source close to Hariri announced that he had left for Paris to visit his family.

“He left half an hour ago and will spend a few days with his family in Paris,” said the source.

Earlier in the day, Aoun said Hariri will “certainly” remain in office.

Hariri announced his resignation in a televised speech broadcast from the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 4

Senior sources close to Hariri and top Lebanese officials said Saudi Arabia had coerced the Lebanese premier into stepping down and put him under house arrest. Aoun refused to accept Hariri’s resignation, stressing that he was being detained in Saudi Arabia against his will.

After a nearly three-week absence, Hariri returned to Lebanon on November 22 and put his resignation on hold at Aoun’s request to allow for more consultations on the issue.

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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi made the remarks on Saturday, a few hours after the announcement of Hariri’s resignation in Saudi Arabia, in which he made allegations against Iran and Lebanon’s Resistance Movement Hezbollah.

“The sudden resignation of Mr. Hariri and its announcement in another country are not only regrettable and astonishing, but also indicative of him playing in a court that the ill-wishers in the region have laid out,” he said.

“The winners in this field are not Arab and Muslim countries but the Zionist regime (Israel) which has defined its existence in tensions ‘in’ and ‘among’ the Muslim countries in the region,” the Iranian spokesperson added.

At a time when Daesh Takfiris and other terrorist groups are approaching their demise in regional states, it is necessary to promote calm in order to make up for the losses inflicted by terrorists backed by the US and its regional allies and reconstruct war-ravaged countries, he pointed out.

He said Iran believes that the resilient Lebanese people would thwart plots aimed at creating new tensions in their country and would “easily see this phase through as well.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran always seeks the safeguarding of peace and stability in regional states and has defined its interests in the security, stability and economic prosperity of all regional and neighboring countries,” Qassemi added.

This is the reason why Tehran in its regional policies attaches special significance to the fight against insecurity, instability and extremist and terrorist groups with the purpose of promoting peace in all countries, he emphasized.

The Iranian spokesperson pointed to excellent ties between Tehran and Beirut and said the Islamic Republic has always respected Lebanon’s independence, stability and peace and announced its readiness to cooperate with the Lebanese government in all issues of common interest.

In a speech broadcast from Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Hariri announced his resignation, citing many reasons, including the security situation in Lebanon, for his sudden decision. Hariri announced his resignation following visits to Saudi Arabia.

He said that he sensed a plot being hatched against his life. Hariri also accused Iran and Hezbollah of meddling in the affairs of the Arab countries.

This comes as Lebanese President Michel Aoun on October 31 stressed Iran’s significant role in the Middle East, saying the Islamic Republic is a regional power and part of the solution to the region’s woes.

“Iran is present and has its influence in the Middle East and it must be taken into account,” he said.

The president also stressed that Iran has “no ambitions in Lebanon.”

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