Saad Hariri, leader of the Lebanese Future Movement party and former prime minister, is set to announce his return to politics after a nearly three-year hiatus. According to a source in the Sunni bloc Al-Tajammu, Hariri will declare his intention to participate in the 2026 general elections during a rally in Beirut on Friday.
“Hariri will address his supporters at a mass gathering near the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in central Beirut,” the source said. “He will declare his aim to reclaim his role as the political leader of Lebanon's Sunni community.”
Hariri's return coincides with the 20th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a 2005 Beirut bombing that claimed 22 lives.
Saad Hariri served as Lebanon's prime minister from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2016 to 2020. In January 2022, he unexpectedly announced his withdrawal from politics and dissolved the Future Movement, leaving Lebanon’s Sunni community fragmented and without a major parliamentary bloc after the May 2022 elections.
At the time of his withdrawal, Hariri cited a lack of “positive prospects” due to Lebanon's political challenges, particularly what he described as “Iranian dominance” through Hezbollah.
Changing Dynamics in the Region
The source within Al-Tajammu noted that Hariri's decision to return to politics reflects shifts in regional power dynamics, including the establishment of a transitional government in Damascus and the waning influence of Iran in Lebanon.
Tribunal Verdicts
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), established in 2007 by the UN Security Council, had convicted members of Hezbollah for the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri. In June 2022, the STL sentenced Hasan Merhi and Hussein Oneissi to life in absentia for their roles in the bombing.
Earlier, in December 2020, the tribunal sentenced another Hezbollah member, Salim Ayyash, to five life terms. Ayyash was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria in 2024. Hezbollah's former military commander, Amin Badreddine, was also implicated in the case but died in combat during Syria's civil war.
Hezbollah's former leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has consistently denied involvement and refused to hand over members to international authorities, warning that such accusations could lead to renewed sectarian conflict in Lebanon.
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Based on materials from TASS