Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he was suspending his surprise resignation, pending talks, providing a potential way out of a political crisis that has rocked the country.
In a rousing address before large crowds of supporters gathered outside his Beirut home, he pledged he would stay in the country and protect its "stability".
Lebanon has been thrown into turmoil by Hariri's shock November 4 announcement from Saudi Arabia that he was stepping down, which was followed by a prolonged absence.
The resignation was seen as a ratcheting up of tensions in the long-running rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and raised fears that Lebanon would be paralysed by regional tensions.
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Hariri resignation 'on hold', pledges to stay in Lebanon
That's a belief held by Professor Amin Saikal, Middle East Analyst an the Australian National University.
"I think it’s very much linked to this power-play between Iran and Saudi Arabia," he told SBS News.
"Saudi Arabia and its allies, who share a common cause with Israel, have accused Iran of being the most destabilising force in the region and have accused Iran of trying to grab power across the region.
"Of course the Iranians deny that, but there’s no question that Iran has gained a lot of influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and that is a major source of concern for Saudi Arabia and Israel."
Prof Saikal said the people of Lebanon wanted stability and security.
"They are very much aware that if Prime Minister Hariri withdraws from political life in Lebanon and that results in a collapse of the government, (it would) generate in a bigger power vacuum and possibly result in instability and even civil war in Lebanon," he told SBS News.
"Therefore I think a majority of the Lebanese public would welcome the restoration of the position of the prime minister and the continuation of his cabinet, and government."
Hours after his arrival back in Beirut, Hariri met with President Michel Aoun, who had refused to accept the resignation until he returned to Lebanon.
"I discussed my resignation with the president of the republic who asked me to wait before submitting it... and allow for more consultations," Hariri told reporters afterward.
"I agreed to this request."
Hariri said he hoped his decision would "allow for a responsible dialogue in a serious manner... that would settle disputes."
In announcing his resignation, he had levelled harsh criticism at Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, saying they had taken over Lebanon and were destabilising the region.
He also said he had been forced to leave Lebanon because of threats to his safety, invoking the 2005 assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Iran-Saudi struggle
But he left the door open to withdrawing the resignation if the powerful Shiite Hezbollah group pulled back from involvement in regional conflicts.
Speaking in the evening after meeting parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Hariri called on "everyone" to respect this "policy of distance", saying that would "improve our relations with our Arab brothers ".
Hariri accuses Hezbollah of violating Lebanon's policy of "disassociation" from regional conflicts by fighting alongside Syria's government and assisting Huthi rebels in Yemen.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has said the group was open to talks, though whether any real compromise could be reached remained unclear.
The decision brings down the temperature after weeks of tensions, and some analysts said it suggested a deal could be in the works to save the consensus government Hariri formed just under a year ago.
"What this is saying, (is) there is still room for backroom discussions and negotiations," said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre think-tank.
"Hariri would not have agreed to this (otherwise)," she added.
"There's already some consensus behind it. There's a deal that is being worked out, we still don't know what the details are."
There has been heavy international involvement in the search for a way out of the crisis, with France stepping in to invite Hariri to Paris after weeks of speculation that he was being detained in Riyadh.
Hariri, who holds Saudi citizenship and is closely allied with Riyadh, strongly denied he was being held in the kingdom, but nonetheless accepted the invitation and arrived in Paris on Saturday.
Before continuing to Beirut Tuesday, he stopped for talks in both Egypt and Cyprus, hinting at the various tracks underway to ease tension.
-With AFP
