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15:13 GMT
TEHRAN, Nov 4 (KUNA) -- A senior Iranian MP said Saturday Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri's announced resignation during a visit to Saudi Arabia as a "surprise step".
The Iranian Parliament Speaker's Special Aide for International Affairs Hossein Abdollahian said Al-Hariri's resignation would trigger a political vacuum that could only serve the Zionist entity, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said.
Abdollahian quoted Iranian Supreme Leader's senior advisor Ali Akbar Velayati as saying during a visit to Beirut on Friday as saying that Iran wants Lebanon to be independent and united.
Earlier in the day, Al-Hariri announced his resignation in a televised broadcast, lashing out at Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
Al-Hariri has been in office for less than a year, but previously served as prime minister between 2009 and 2011.
He assumed office as prime minister again in December 2016 in a power-sharing government headed by President Michel Aoun. (end)
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