Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri appeared on live television on Sunday evening in his first interview since his shock resignation from Riyadh on Nov. 4.
In it, Hariri reiterated his commitment to the country and its people, and insisted that the decision to the government is his own.
This, however, along with other statements Hariri made, did nothing to settle the hearts of conspiracy theorists.
Here are just a few of them:
First, predictions happened.
Then, the man at the back of the room really fired things up
Everyone kept talking about the "man with a paper"
During the interview, Hariri’s eyes kept wandering to the back of the room to a man who was holding a piece of paper.
According to The Washington Post, some began wondering whether the man in the back had "some kind of message for Hariri, fueling reports that the prime minister was being held against his will."
"Saad Hariri looks tired, broken and possibly drugged"
"Hariri wanted water"
*5 sips of water in 10 minutes*
Questions followed
Photoshopped images came to life
Saad Hariri: "Did they give you the questions?"
Interviewer Paula Yacoubian: "They gave me both the questions and answers"
Tension ... lots of it
Some believed he looked "very calm and measured"
Introduction to ... Arab Hospitality 101
"If he is a hostage, then he deserves an Oscar for acting"
And then there were those ...
The TV interview in a nutshell
In one of the first statements he made during the live interview, Hariri reconfirmed his resignation.
"I resigned because this is what's best for Lebanon and the Lebanese people," he said, reiterating that it was his own decision and dismissing reports that he was forced to quit a unity government with Hezbollah.
When asked about news reports and leading Lebanese political figures claiming that he is being placed under house arrest in Saudi Arabia, Hariri replied by saying that he's free to travel at any time.
"My return to Lebanon is a matter of days, not weeks or months. I am free to return whenever I want to but I am choosing to delay my return for security reasons," he said.
Towards the end of the interview, Hariri reiterated a point he had made earlier saying that no war will be waged against Lebanon.
He added that Saudi Arabia only wants stability in the country. Hariri also stressed that Lebanon's long-postponed elections will still go ahead as planned despite his resignation.