An example was the surreal incident in late 2017 when Lebanon’s then prime minister, Saad al-Hariri, ‘chose’ to announce his resignation during a visit to Riyadh. He thought he was going on a camping trip with MBS, only to find himself separated from his bodyguards, relieved of his phone, shoved into a room by security officials and handed his resignation speech. When he appeared on television to read it out he appeared to blame Hezbollah and Iran for his decision, at which point the clumsy machinations of the crown prince became apparent.
