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Lebanese PM: Al-Assad threatened Hariri
 Fouad Siniora stops short of saying Syria was involved in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad threatened to "break" Lebanon if the late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri did not support a longer term for President Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syrian politician, Lebanon's prime minister claimed Sunday. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's assertion, on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," adds fresh fuel to the debate over Syria's alleged role in Hariri's assassination last year, which triggered a series of protests in Lebanon that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops. Syria's government has denied any involvement in the bombing, which killed 22 others on February 14, 2005. But Siniora said Hariri recounted the threat to him in person. "After the meeting that Prime Minister Hariri had with President Assad, he called me over the telephone, just immediately, about one hour after he left," Siniora said. "And he asked me to join him, to meet him in his house in the mountains." The prime minister said he went to Hariri's home with an assistant, where Hariri recounted "that President Assad told him that if he doesn't really abide by the election of -- or the extension of the term of President Lahoud, he [Al-Assad] will break the country on his head." The Cedar RevolutionIn an October 12 interview with CNN, Al-Assad denied that he or his country was involved in Hariri's assassination, and he denied that he had threatened Hariri. "I'm a very quiet person. I'm very frank, but I wouldn't threaten," he said. Al-Assad reiterated his claim in a March 27 interview with PBS interviewer Charlie Rose. Hariri was killed February 14, 2005, in a car bomb attack in Beirut. His death sparked massive anti-Syrian demonstrations -- the so-called Cedar Revolution -- that helped sweep Syrian troops out of the country last year. U.S. officials contend Damascus is still attempting to exert influence in Lebanon. The ongoing U.N. investigation into Hariri's death has found evidence it believes indicates top-ranked Syrian and Lebanese officials were involved in the blast. Siniora said Sunday there should not be any accusations until the end of the investigation. "We are giving all the necessary support to the international investigation commission, and we need to really get to know the facts, what really happened," he said. "I am in no position to make any accusation to anybody." Syrian officials have dismissed the U.N. investigation as false and politically motivated. Former Syrian vice president Abdel-Halim Khaddam told the Arabic language TV network Al-Arabiya in December that al-Assad made direct personal threats against Hariri months before his assassination. Khaddam has met with U.N. investigators and fled into exile. Syrian lawmakers have branded him a traitor. In the October interview, Al-Assad told CNN such an assassination would go against the principles and interests of Syria as well as his own values. "I would never do such a thing in my life. What do we achieve?" Al-Assad asked. "I think what happened targeted Syria. That would affect our relation with the Lebanese people and with most of the country. So we wouldn't do it because it's against our interest, and it's against my principle. I would never do it. It's impossible." 
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