Minister of State Adnan Sayyed Hussein turned in his resignation along with 10 members of the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance, meaning that the threshold needed, 11 resignations from the 30-member Cabinet, to collapse the government had been reached. 

Hariri was meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House as the political crisis erupted in Lebanon.  

Lebanon's government has been at an impasse over the UN-backed special tribunal's investigation of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the current premier's father. It is widely expected the tribunal will indict members of Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department. 

Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and has pressured the government to reject the tribunal's probe.  

Opposition member Fadi Abboud said the opposition bloc had been calling for a Cabinet session to discuss the tribunal and met on January 12 to discuss what action to take if their demands were not met. 

Attempts to resolve the dispute have failed so far. Hezbollah's walkout on January 12  came after a Saudi-Syrian initiative hit a dead end.