Iran has said that the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is aimed at creating tension in Lebanon and the region, Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.

“Hariri’s sudden resignation and the announcement of his resignation in another country is regretful and at the same time surprising,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said in a statement.

“It shows Hariri is playing in a field prepared by those who wish ill for the region, and the winner of this game is both Arab countries and the Zionist regime (of Israel) whose survival is contingent upon tension in regional Muslim countries,” Qasemi was quoted as saying.

At a time when the life of the Islamic State and other groups in the region is coming to an end, efforts should be made to calm the situation and to fix the damage by terrorists trained and sponsored by the US and its regional allies, he said.

On Saturday, Hariri announced his resignation claiming that it stemmed from a “rejection of Iran’s political over-extension in the region.”

“I declare my resignation from the premiership of the Lebanese government, with certainty that the will of the Lebanese is strong,” Hariri said in an unexpected move in a televised statement he read from the Saudi capital Riyadh.

His “country would be able to overcome political influence exerted by internal and external forces,” he said, adding that the “Islamic Republic (of Iran) has a desire to destroy the Arab world and has boasted of its control over the decisions of Arab capitals.”

“Iran’s hand would be cut off,” Hariri said, adding that “Lebanon would not play a role in destabilizing the region.”

He also implicated the Lebanese Hezbollah Shiite group in what he views as Iran’s race to regional domination.

The Iranian spokesman rejected Hariri’s comments against Iran, saying that “the resigned Lebanese premier’s repetition of unfounded accusations levelled against Iran by Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States bears witness to the fact that this resignation, too, is a new scenario to create new tension in Lebanon and in the region.”

He maintained that “but we believe that strong Lebanese people will easily pass through this phase too.”

Iran has always wanted to see peace and stability in the Middle East countries and has defined its interests based on the security, stability and economic growth of all neighbouring and regional countries, Qasemi stressed.

“Accordingly, top of Iran’s regional policies is to fight insecurity and instability as well as extremist and terrorist groups to ensure tranquillity for all countries,” he added.