The last assassination was the suicide blast that killed Antoine Ghanem on September 19 [EPA]

Saad al-Hariri, who is the country's parliamentary majority leader, said he also believed Fouad Siniora, Lebanon's present prime minister, was threatened.
 
Al-Hariri made the comments after talks with Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, on Tuesday.

Al-Hariri, representing a coalition opposed to Syrian influence on the country, said Lebanese security agencies are investigating the information with other Arab intelligence groups.

Asked whether Assef Shawqat, the director of Syria's military intelligence and brother-in-law of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, was behind the alleged plot, al-Hariri replied: "We have information about this, and we're following up on it.

"It is accurate information, but the security agencies are working and there is co-operation between the Lebanese security agencies and Arab security agencies on the attempt to assassinate not just me, but also Siniora."

This is not the first time Lebanon has accused Syria of plotting to assassinate Lebanese politicians, Rula Amin reported.

She said that the timing of al-Hariri's comments shows Lebanon's position and its backing from the Arab states, especially its close ties with Saudi Arabia.

As the pressure mounts, speculation remains on whether the Syrians will be more flexible or accelerate their efforts to undermine the stability of the country, she reports.

Syria denies

Shawqat is among 10 Syrian officials and Lebanese politicians, Washington accuses of undermining Lebanon's government.

These public figures are all banned from entering the US.

Al-Hariri's coalition accuses Damascus of orchestrating a series of political killings in Lebanon, which began with his father on February 14, 2005. Syria denies the allegations.

About 40 members of the coalition have moved into a hotel to protect themselves from assassins who have struck against their bloc three times in less than a year.

The last attack came on September 19, when a car bomb killed Antoine Ghanem.

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