Saudi Arabia on Friday announced it would expel the Lebanese ambassador and impose a blanket ban on all imported goods from Lebanon. Riyadh also summoned its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations.
What did Saudi Arabia say about the decision?
Saudi Arabia ordered the “recall of the ambassador in Lebanon for consultations, the departure of Lebanon’s ambassador to the kingdom within 48 hours, and a halt all Lebanese imports” over the “insulting” remarks made by Beirut’s information minister, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.
The move comes after Lebanon’s information minister George Kordahi criticized the Saudi-led war in Yemen against armed Houthi rebels. Kordahi described the war in Yemen as the result of Saudi “aggression.”
Kordahi had made the comments in a television interview with an affiliate of the Qatari news outlet al-Jazeera before he was chosen for the role of ambassador in September, but the footage only surfaced this week after a video clip was widely spread across social media.
Previously, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati had sought to reduce tensions by saying Kordahi’s remarks did not reflect the Lebanese government’s position, adding that they were “personal” remarks made prior to his appointment.
Late Friday, Mikati’s media office published a statement announcing that he had consulted with President Michel Aoun on developments and Lebanon state media reported that “Mikati called Minister of Information George Kurdahi and asked him to assess the national interest and take the appropriate decision to reform Lebanon’s Arab relations.”
Riyadh’s move comes at a time when Mikati’s Cabinet is already in distress due to the country’s financial crisis and an ongoing investigation into government negligence over the 2020 Beirut port explosion.
Mikati has publicly sought better relations with wealthier Arab neighbors and observers say today’s diplomatic dust up will put pressure on Kurdahi to resign, something he said he will not do.
Still, despite Mitaki’s appeal to “brotherly Arab leaders to work and help to overcome this crisis in order to preserve Arab cohesion,” the ripple effect continued Friday as Bahrain followed Saudi Arabia’s suit by giving the Lebanese ambassador in Manama 48 hours to leave the country.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said the decision was made “against the background of a series of unacceptable and offensive statements issued by Lebanese officials in recent times,” adding, “This decision does not affect the Lebanese residents in the kingdom.”
Saudi Arabia: Hezbollah is ‘controlling all Lebanese outlets’
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said the measures were also due to what it described as Lebanon’s failure to stop attempts to smuggle drugs into the country through Lebanese products.
“The terrorist Hezbollah is controlling all Lebanese outlets,” the ministry said in reference to the Lebanese movement allied with Iran, a regional rival of Saudi Arabia.
Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday placed blame for Beirut’s rift with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries squarely on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. “The responsibility, first and foremost, in this regard lies with Hezbollah, and its professed hostility towards the Arabs and the Arab Gulf states,” said the Sunni politician in a Tweet.
Hezbollah issued a statement of praise for Kordahi’s comments on Thursday. Riyadh accuses Hezbollah of supporting the Yemeni rebels.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group which was founded amid the turbulence of Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war.
Lebanon is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis since the internal conflict.
jsi/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)
Saudi Arabia expels Lebanese ambassador amid row over Yemen
Source: Pinoy Pop News
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