Since President Michel Suleiman left office in May 2014, Lebanon's political blocs have failed 37 times to agree on his replacement. Hezbollah has been active in keeping the parties at loggerheads, refusing to support any presidential candidate who will not fully embrace the group's agenda. On top of Hezbollah's domestic agenda, the aims of its chief patron, Iran, are contributing to the organization's intransigence. Regional dynamics have traditionally influenced Lebanese politics, but the heightened competition lately between Saudi Arabia and Iran has made the political crisis in Lebanon all the more difficult to resolve. The origins of Lebanon's predicament trace back more than a decade. In the wake of the 2005 assassination of Saudi-backed Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, Lebanon's Sunni population joined with certain Christian allies in mass protests against Syria's occupation of Lebanon. The demonstrations became known as the Cedar Revolution, and from them, two major political coalitions emerged.