Lebanese prime minister goes on selfie-spree with world leaders

Lebanon’s prime minister proved to be a man of little words this week, after posting selfies with world leaders using the same ambiguous captions.

Saad Hariri, who joined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron during the prince’s state visit to Paris, posted an image of the trio on his official Twitter page with the caption “No comment” in Arabic.

Just a day earlier, Hariri posted a similar selfie with MBS and Morocco's King Mohammed VI, also captioning it “No comment.”

Last month, Hariri posted another selfie with MBS and Saudi ambassador to the US Khaled bin Salman, but on this occasion, was captioned more formally, referring to his companions in their official capacities.

"With the Crown Prince and Guardian of the two holy mosques Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and the ambassador to the two holy mosques in the United States Prince Khaled bin Salman in #Riyadh," the caption reads.

The comments - or lack of - could either mean Hariri is a fan of selfies, or could be an attempt by Hariri to show relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have calmed after a period of tense relations.

Only a few months ago an Arabic hashtag that translates as #Where_is_Hariri did the rounds on social media after the Lebanese leader went missing following a trip to to Saudi Arabia.

The incident sparked rumours Riyadh had detained Hariri, a Saudi citizen, and forced him to resign while a broad consolidation of power and a purge led by MBS against dissidents and rival princes was taking place.

Lebanon-Saudi relations were further strained by a spell of diplomatic spats, court cases, and a widely-held view that Saudi Arabia was waging proxy war against nemesis Iran on Lebanese soil.