In a televised address from Saudi Arabia on Nov. 4, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri announced he was resigning from the office he has held since December 2016. In his surprise announcement, the prominent Sunni leader cited his fear of assassination — his father, Rafik al-Hariri, was assassinated in 2005 — and expressed concern over growing Iranian interference in Lebanon and other Arab countries. By nature of its precariously balanced confessional government structure and weak institutions , Lebanon struggles between the pressure of stronger states like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Al-Hariri's penchant for compromise helped Lebanon pass some critical pieces of legislation after years of stagnant and slow policymaking, hampered in part by the Syrian conflict next door.