U.S. National Security Adviser Tells Hariri U.S. Committed to Lebanon Stability

Prime Minister Saad Hariri received Friday evening a phone call from U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Hariri's office said.

The U.S. official assured the premier of “the American administration's commitment to Lebanon's stability and its support for the state and its legitimate institutions,” Hariri's office added.

The talks come after Hariri announced Wednesday that he was suspending his resignation pending talks with the Lebanese parties, after he returned from a mysterious, nearly three-week-long stay abroad.

Hariri had caused widespread perplexity on November 4 when he resigned during a TV broadcast from Saudi Arabia, citing assassination threats as well as the policies of Hizbullah and Iran in Lebanon and the region.

His resignation had raised fears of an escalation between the region's Sunni and Shiite powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Many questions remain unanswered following the unprecedented scenario that saw Lebanon's prime minister resign in a foreign country suspected of keeping him under house arrest and return only after the apparent intervention of France.

But while Hariri and his backers seemed on a collision course with Hizbullah only a few days ago, an apparent behind-the-scenes deal now appears to be restoring the status quo.