On Friday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic and economic ties
with Lebanon by suspending all imports from the country, expelling the Leb


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Saudi Arabia Cuts Ties With Lebanon After Government Minister Shows Support
For Iranian-Backed Terrorists
 

(New York, N.Y.) — On Friday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic
and economic ties
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with Lebanon by suspending all imports from the country, expelling the
Lebanese ambassador from Riyadh, and recalling its own envoy. The move came in
response to remarks by Lebanese Minister of Information George Kordahi
criticizing the Saudi military intervention in Yemen against the Iran-backed
Houthi militia. The Houthis have forced the legitimate Yemeni government into
exile and launched terror attacks on Saudi and Yemeni civilians and
infrastructure. Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has since rejected
Saudi demands to reduce Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon,telling Reuters
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, “Hezbollah is a component of politics in Lebanon.”

Kordahi’s remarks exacerbated long running tensions between Gulf Arab states
and Beirut rooted in Iranian meddling in Lebanon through its terrorist proxy
force Hezbollah. In February 2017, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al
Saud canceled a trip to Lebanon after President Michel Aoun made a series of
pro-Hezbollah statements. After Hezbollah condemned a May 2017 Bahraini
domestic counterterrorism raid, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed
al-Khalifa warned that the Lebanese government would be held “responsible for
statements made by its partner Hezbollah and its aggressive terrorist leader
that insults the Kingdom of Bahrain.” Bahrainjoined
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similar diplomatic action on Friday, as did the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Kuwait.

Iran-backed Hezbollah has consistently undermined Lebanese sovereignty,
thrust Lebanon into political crisis, and damaged Lebanon’s relationships in
the region. Hezbollah is suspected of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri in 2005. In November 2017, anti-Hezbollah and anti-Syrian Prime Minister
Saad Hariri resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia, alleging that Hezbollah had
attempted to assassinate him. The following month, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel
al-Jubeir declared that Lebanon had been “hijacked” and would “only survive or
prosper if [it] disarm[s] Hezbollah.” Saudi Arabia has also been a targeted
market for Hezbollah’s global trade in amphetamines and illicit substances that
provide supplemental funding for its terror operations.

Lebanon’s Gulf neighbors have in recent years taken action against Hezbollah
and Lebanon. The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League have both
designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Saudi Arabia has previously
exacted economic punishment on Lebanon’s government over Hezbollah’s influence,
such as banning Lebanese produce this past April after authorities seized more
than five million Captagon pills hidden in a Lebanese pomegranate shipment.
Lebanon faces further political and economic isolation if the Lebanese people
cannot extricate themselves from Hezbollah’s influence.

To read Counter Extremism Project (CEP)’s resource Hezbollah, please click
here <[link removed]>.  

To read CEP’s Lebanon resource, please click here
<[link removed]>.
 

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