BEIRUT (AP) - Lebanon's outgoing prime minister who unexpectedly resigned during a trip to Saudi Arabia met with Saudi King Salman on Monday as speculation continued to swirl over his surprising move.
The official Saudi Press Agency carried photos of the two meeting at one of the Riyadh palaces but there was no indication when Saad Hariri would return to Lebanon.
The resignation threw Lebanon's fragile government into disarray. President Michel Aoun, who must accept the resignation for it to be valid, said in a statement Saturday that he would await Hariri's return to consider the matter.
It is not clear when or if Hariri will return. In a sign of the uncertainty the country now faces, powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri said after meeting Aoun that it is "too early" to consider Hariri's resignation.
SPA said four government ministers attended Monday's meeting between Salman and Hariri, including Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan, who predicted on Lebanon's MTV station last week that "astonishing developments" were coming for Lebanon.
Hariri stunned the Lebanese with his resignation on Saturday and the haltingly delivered televised statement from the kingdom fuelled speculations. In the speech, he accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of holding Lebanon hostage.
Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, Hariri's top political rival at home, speculated on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had forced Hariri to resign amid the deepening Saudi-Iran rivalry.