Lebanon PM says free in Saudi and will return home 'soon'

In an interview from Riyadhwith his party's Future TV, Hariri brushed aside rumours that he was under de facto house arrest in the kingdom, from which he announced his surprise departure.

"I am free here. If I want to travel tomorrow, I will," Hariri said. "I will return to Lebanon very soon," Hariri said, adding later that he would land in Beirut "in two or three days".

Hariri, 47, announced he was stepping down from his post in a televised address on November 4 from Riyadh, and has yet to return to his native Lebanon.

However, Lebanese President Michel Aoun has yet to formally accept his resignation and said the premier has been "restricted" in his movements. Hariri's surprise resignation came as tensions rise between Riyadh and

Tehran, which back opposing sides in power struggles from Lebanon and Syria to Yemen.

At the time, Hariri accused Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of taking over his country and destabilising the broader region.

"We cannot continue in Lebanon in a situation where Iran interferes in all Arab countries, and that there's a political faction that interferes alongside it," he repeated on Sunday in apparent reference to rival movement Hezbollah.

"Maybe there's a regional conflict between Arab countries and Iran. We're a small country. Why put ourselves in the middle?"

Wearing a suit and tie and with a Lebanese flag in the background, the former premier looked tired on Sunday and spoke softly but firmly throughout the interview.

Hariri, who also holds Saudi citizenship, told journalist Paula Yaacoubian that he wrote his resignation himself and wanted to submit it in Lebanon, "but there was danger".