HOW LEBANESE PM'S RESIGNATION AND NEW US SANCTIONS AFFECT IRAN-BACKED HEZBOLLAH By INU Staff INU -Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned from office in Riyadh last Saturday. When he  declared the decision , he cited Iranian influence across the region and threats to his life, and followed a thwarted assassination attempt against him in Beirut. According to reports, the Iranian regime called Hariri’s resignation a Saudi-backed plot, and accused Riyadh of having taken the Lebanese Premier as hostage. The government assembled in Lebanon 11 months ago, granted premiership to Hariri but gave political advantages to Hezbollah. According to an   article   in Riyadh Daily, by political analyst Shahriar Kia, “This had given Iran a seemingly legitimate political façade to increase its   violent  meddling in the country and to boost its intervention in neighboring Syria, where it has been propping up the Assad regime against democratic opposition forces...