Syrian ex-VP's memoirs detail Assad's harsh threat to Hariri before assassination

Former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam has revealed new details about a tense 2004 meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In his upcoming memoirs, Khaddam describes the encounter in Damascus as the most severe in the period leading up to Hariri's assassination.

The meeting, held in July 2004, was attended by high-ranking Syrian officials, including Maj. Gen. Ghazi Kanaan and Brig. Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh. According to Khaddam's account, Assad summoned Hariri and delivered a stern warning. "Rafik Hariri was here, and I spoke to him clearly and frankly in the presence of the officers," Khaddam quotes Assad as saying. "I told him he was not allowed to work to bring in a president other than Emile Lahoud. I am the one who chooses who governs Lebanon, and whoever defies me, I will break his bones."

Khaddam recounts that Assad's aggressive remarks caused Hariri's blood pressure to rise, resulting in a nosebleed. Khaddam expressed shock at Assad's words, questioning the repercussions if such remarks reached the media and how the Prime Minister of Lebanon could be addressed in such a manner. Assad later attempted to mend the situation, asking Khaddam to invite Hariri for a follow-up meeting to mitigate the consequences of the encounter.

The memoirs trace the origins of this crisis back to the 1998 election of Lebanese army commander Gen. Emile Lahoud as president. Khaddam states that Bashar al-Assad strongly advocated for Lahoud's succession, persuading his father, President Hafez al-Assad, to support the army commander despite opposition from key Lebanese figures like Walid Jumblatt, Nabih Berri, and Hariri. Khaddam also notes that Ghazi Kanaan pressured Lebanese lawmakers to back Lahoud. Following these events, Khaddam requested to be relieved of his responsibilities for the Lebanon portfolio due to his known opposition to Lahoud, a task that subsequently fell under Bashar al-Assad's purview.

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Rafik Hariri was here, and I spoke to him clearly and frankly in the presence of the officers. I told him he was not allowed to work to bring in a president other than Emile Lahoud. I am the one who chooses who governs Lebanon, and whoever defies me, I will break his bones.