Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Saturday the latest crisis with Lebanon has its origins in a Lebanese political setup that reinforces the dominance of the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group and continues to allow endemic instability.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries expelled Lebanese envoys in a diplomatic spat that risks adding to Lebanon's economic crisis, following critical comments about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen by Lebanon's Information Minister George Kordahi.
Riyadh on Friday recalled its ambassador to Lebanon and gave Beirut's envoy 48 hours to leave, following "insulting" remarks made by a Lebanese minister on the Yemen war.
The United Arab Emirates announced Saturday it was withdrawing its diplomats from Lebanon and also banned its citizens from traveling to the country.
Bahrain and Kuwait followed suit a few hours later.
The diplomatic row erupted when Kordahi said in a television interview that Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels were "defending themselves...against an external aggression," adding that "homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed" by the Saudi-led coalition.
In the interview, which was filmed in August but aired last week, he also called the seven-year war in Yemen "futile" and said it was "time for it to end."
Kuwait's Foreign Ministry said the expulsion and recall were based on the "failure" of the Lebanese government to "address the unacceptable and reprehensible statements against the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest" of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The GCC is a six-member regional body that includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
Kuwait's decision was also based on "the failure of the Government of the Lebanese Republic to take the necessary measures to deter the continuous and increasing smuggling operations of the scourge of drugs to Kuwait and the rest of the GCC," the ministry added.
"I think the issue is far broader than the current situation," Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told Reuters. "I think it's important that the government in Lebanon or the Lebanese establishment forges a path forward that frees Lebanon from the current political construct, which reinforces the dominance of Hezbollah."
He said this setup "is weakening state institutions within Lebanon, in a way that makes Lebanon continue to process in a direction against the interests of the people of Lebanon."
The row has triggered calls by some Lebanese politicians for the resignation of Kordahi, while others opposed such a move, which could undermine the government as a whole.
"We have no opinion about the government in Lebanon. We have no opinion as to whether it stays or goes, this is up to the Lebanese people," the minister, speaking from Rome where he was attending the G20 summit, said.
Kordahi has been publicly backed by Hezbollah and has declined to apologize or resign over the comments.
Saudi Arabia has shunned Lebanon for years because of the strong influence in state affairs of Shiite group Hezbollah, which it accuses of sending fighters to Yemen and Syria.
Iran and Saudi Arabia, the leading Shiite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, have been rivals for years but they launched a series of talks this year hoping to defuse tensions.
"We've had four rounds of talks so far. The talks are cordial but remain in an exploratory vein. We continue to hope that they will produce tangible progress ... but so far, we have not made sufficient progress to be optimistic," Prince Faisal said.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said the diplomatic crisis caused by Kordahi's comments has led to a "great setback" to Lebanon's relationship with the Gulf countries.
He urged Lebanese leadership to take "necessary steps" to ease the tension, especially with Saudi Arabia.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
