Gulf States Withdraw Ambassadors To Lebanon After Pro-Houthi Minister's Criticism of Yemen War

 

France 24: Four Gulf states including UAE pull diplomats from Beirut 

The United Arab Emirates said Saturday it was withdrawing its diplomats from Lebanon, following a similar move by Saudi Arabia over a Lebanese minister's criticism of the Riyadh-led military intervention in Yemen. 

The diplomatic row, which has also seen Riyadh suspend imports from Lebanon and both Kuwait and Bahrain expel Lebanese envoys, is another blow to a country already in the grip of crippling political and economic crises. 

Lebanon had been counting on financial assistance from the Gulf to rescue its economy.  

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WNU Editor: Regardless of what this minister said, Lebanon desperately needs aid from the Gulf states. This diplomatic dispute will impose even more hardships on the people of Lebanon. 

More News On The Gulf States Withdrawing Their Ambassadors From Lebanon  

Gulf States Withdraw Ambassadors to Lebanon Over Criticism of Yemen War -- New York Times  

Saudi Arabia Bans Lebanese Imports, Expels Ambassador Over War Comment -- NDTV  

After Saudi, Kuwait expels Lebanese diplomat over Yemen war row -- DW  

Lebanon’s FM sees possible breakthrough in diplomatic spat sparked by pro-Houthi minister -- Arab News  

Lebanese president says he wants ‘best relations’ with Saudis -- Al Jazeera  

Saudi Arabia foreign minister denies a diplomatic 'crisis' with Lebanon -- CNBC  

Lebanon seeks US help to resolve the crisis with Gulf states -- Gulf News

Lebanonese President Aoun Is Accusing Saudi Arabia Of Detaining Former PM Saad Hariri

CNBC/Reuters: Lebanon accuses Saudi Arabia of holding its PM hostage

* Hariri says he is fine, will return soon
* French foreign minister aims to meet Hariri Thursday
* Saudi, Iran tussle for sway in Lebanon

Lebanon's president on Wednesday accused Saudi Arabia of holding hostage prime minister Saad al-Hariri along with his family - the first time he has explicitly said he was being held - and called this an act of aggression.

"We will not accept him remaining a hostage whose reason for detention we do not know," President Michel Aoun said in a statement.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, the head of Aoun's political party, said the situation was "not normal" but that Beirut wanted "good relations" with Riyadh.

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Update #1: Lebanon president: Saudi also holding Hariri's family -- Reuters
Update #2: Michel Aoun: Nothing justifies Saad Hariri's detention (Al Jazeera)

WNU Editor: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has responded .... Hariri reiterates he will soon be back in Lebanon (Arab News).

Is Saudi Arabia Preparing To Launch Air Strikes Against Lebanon?

Daily Star: Saudi Arabia 'scrambles fighter jets' amid fears of WAR in Middle East

SAUDI Arabia has scrambled its air force for strikes in Lebanon amid fears of a new war in the Middle East, according to reports.

The kingdom has mobilised its F-15 fighter jet fleet ito launch a military operation against the Iranian-backed terrorist militia of Hezbollah in Lebanon, regional news website The Baghdad Post reports.

Saudi Arabia previously accused both Lebanon and Iran of commiting an act of wars against it after rebels fired a missile at the King Khalid International Airport in the kingdom's capital of Riyadh.

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon escalating fears of war to new heights – which the US have dubbed grounds for a “proxy war”.

Hezbollah are the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon and receives major support from Iran.

Reports now state the Royal Saudi Air Force has placed its warplanes on alert to launch strikes as the region sits on a knife edge.

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Update #1: It looks like Saudi Arabia removed Lebanon's prime minister — and it may be the first move in starting a war (Business Insider)
Update #2: Tension mounts in Lebanon as Saudi Arabia escalates power struggle with Iran (The Guardian)

WNU Editor: No one else is reporting this story (i.e. Saudi Arabia preparing to launch air strikes against Lebanon), but we do know that this is happening .... Saudi Arabia tells citizens to leave Lebanon at once (BBC).

Saudi Arabia Plays 'Hard-Ball' Against Lebanon

Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Samir Moqbel (L) speaks during a joint news conference with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at the Beirut airport air base during a ceremony to give weapons to the Lebanese army as part of a Saudi-funded deal worth $3 billion, April 20, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)

Al Monitor: What is Riyadh's endgame in Lebanon?

Saudi Arabia is playing a high-stakes game in Lebanon, seeking to punish and weaken Hezbollah and Iran. It's not clear if the Saudis have an achievable end goal in mind.

Lebanon did not join an Arab League consensus in condemning Iran for the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in early January. In response, Riyadh suspended indefinitely a $3 billion program to purchase French weapons for the Lebanese military and canceled a $1 billion project to assist the Lebanese internal security service. Then it announced a travel warning discouraging tourists and others from visiting Lebanon. Several Hezbollah-connected companies have been blacklisted by Riyadh.

The Saudis’ Gulf allies quickly followed suit and issued travel bans. Saudi and Emirati banks are said to be leaving Beirut. Next, the kingdom and its allies may start sending Lebanese expatriate workers home — something that would be a major hit to Lebanon's economy given that half a million Lebanese citizens work in the Gulf.

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Update: Saudi Arabia’s Lebanese Gambit (Brent Nagtegaa, The Trumpet)

WNU Editor: This is going to hurt .... French arms intended for Lebanon to be diverted to Saudi Arabia (Al Bawaba). Shutting down banking institutions and expelling Lebanese nationals doubly so.

Saudi Arabia Halts Military Assistance To Lebanon Because Of Their Support For Iran In The Syrian War

The Lebanon-based militant group is fighting in Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad (AFP)

Reuters: Saudi Arabia says halts $3 billion package to Lebanese army, aid to security service

Saudi Arabia has suspended a $3 billion aid package for the Lebanese army to buy French arms, its state news agency said on Friday, in what an official described as a response to Beirut's failure to condemn attacks on the kingdom's missions in Iran.

The SPA agency also quoted an official source as saying in a statement that Saudi Arabia has also canceled the remainder of $1 billion in aid it had earmarked for Lebanon's internal security service.

Saudi Arabia pledged the aid package for the Lebanese army in 2013 in what then-Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called the largest grant ever to the country's armed forces.

The first shipment of French weapons and military equipment had already been delivered to Lebanon in April last year under the Saudi-funded deal to bolster the Lebanese army's fight against Islamist militants encroaching from neighboring Syria.

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More News On Saudi Arabia Halting Military Assistance To Lebanon

Saudi Arabia halts $4B in Lebanon security grants -- Daily Star
Saudi halts $3 bn in aid to Lebanon army -- Al Arabiya
In protest against Hezbollah’s stance Saudi Arabia halts $4 billion arms deal for Lebanon -- Ya Liban
Saudi Arabia Stops Aid to Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces- Official Source -- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia halts $3B Lebanese arms deal amid Iran dispute -- AP
Saudi Arabia halts $3bn package to Lebanese army -- BBC
Saudi Arabia halts $4b aid to Lebanon -- Gulf news/AP/AFP
Saudi Arabia Cancels $3B Aid to Lebanon; French Weapons Deal Held -- Defense News
Saudi Arabia Scraps $3 Billion Funding to Lebanon for Arms -- Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia halts billions in aid to Lebanese security forces -- DW

Iran And Saudi Arabia Compete To Arm Lebanon

Lebanese army soldiers carry their weapons during clashes with Islamist militants in Tripoli on Oct. 25. (Stringer/Reuters)

Rivals Tehran, Riyadh Pledge Billions To Lebanon’s Army -- Washington Post

BEIRUT — Saudi Arabia and Iran have offered apparently competing aid packages to Lebanon’s small and modestly armed military as it confronts increasing attacks at home by militants with ties to extremists fighting in Syria’s civil war.

The pledges total billions of dollars’ worth of mostly light arms and underscore the mounting concern of the Persian Gulf foes about the stability of a country where both have invested significant resources.

The aid is on top of the more than $1 billion spent by the United States since 2006 to train and equip the 65,000-member military, which has limited authority and yields to Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s powerful Shiite militia. Hezbollah supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against Saudi-backed rebels.

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More News On France And Lebanon Signing A Saudi-Funded Arms Deal Worth $3 Bln

France, Lebanon sign Saudi-funded arms deal worth $3 bln -- Reuters
French Weapons, Paid For By Saudi Arabia, To Arm Lebanese Military -- IBTimes
Saudi Arabia, France Seal $3 Billion Weapons Deal For Lebanon Army -- Defense News/AFP
France Signs $3B Deal With Saudi to Arm Lebanon -- AP
Saudi Arabia and France sign deal to provide arms to Lebanon -- RFI

Update: The Israelis are worried on who is going to receive these weapons .... Will $3 Billion Saudi Deal Arm Hezbollah with French Weapons? (Arutz Sheva)

Saudi Arabia Pledges $3 Billion To Strengthen Lebanon's Army

Saudi Arabia To Inject $3 Bllion Into Lebanese Army -- CNN

(CNN) -- Saudi Arabia pledged $3 billion to the Lebanese Army to strengthen its capabilities, according to Lebanon's state-run news agency.

Lebanon's President Gen. Michel Sleiman said the money will allow the army to buy weapons from France, and he expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia, according to the statement.

"The Saudi aid to the Lebanese Army is the largest in the history of Lebanon," Sleiman said.

The announcement comes as French President Francois Hollande is in Saudi Arabia for talks on the crisis in the Mideast and to strengthen economic ties.

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More News On Saudi Arabia Pledging $3 Billion To Strengthen Lebanon's Army

Saudi Arabia To Give Lebanon $3bn To Strengthen Army -- The Telegraph/AP
Saudi Arabia gives Lebanon $3bn to bolster military -- The Guardian
Saudis Pledge $3 Billion to Support Lebanon's Army -- Wall Street Journal
Saudi Arabia gives $3bn boost to Lebanese army -- Financial Times
Sleiman: Saudis Pledge $3B to Lebanese Army -- Defense News/AFP
As tension rise, Saudi Arabia to give Lebanese army $3 billion -- NBC/Reuters
Saudi to grant Lebanese army 3 billion USD in aid -- Xinhua
Lebanese army gets $3 billion from Saudi Arabia amid regional tensions -- Global Post
Saudi Arabia Pledges Lebanon $3B Grant To Strengthen Army -- RTT
Saudi Arabia to donate $3 billion in military aid -- Gulf Daily News

Saudi Arabia Urges It's Citizens To Leave Lebanon

A man walks past Lebanese Army soldiers patrolling a street in the Sunni Muslim Bab al-Tebbaneh neighborhood, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon Oct. 23, 2012. (Reuters)

Saudi Envoy Urges Citizens To Leave Lebanon -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has asked its citizens to leave Lebanon due to the risk of political violence in the country, where twin suicide bombings near Iran's embassy in Beirut killed 25 people this week.

Riyadh has issued several similar calls in the past two years as the civil war in Syria has inflamed political and sectarian tension in neighboring Lebanon.

"Saudi ambassador Ali Awadh al-Asseiri said on Thursday... that the embassy urged Saudi nationals to leave Lebanon, considering the alarming security situation," the Lebanese National News Agency reported, citing a phone call with Asseiri.

Read more ....

More News On Saudi Arabia Advising it's Citizens To Leave Lebanon

Saudi Arabia urges citizens to leave Lebanon -- Daily Star
Saudi urges citizens to leave tense Lebanon -- Washington post/AP
Embassy urges Saudis to quit Lebanon over 'danger' -- Global Post/AFP
Saudi Arabia asks citizens to leave Lebanon -- Gulf News/Reuters/AFP
Saudi condemns attack on Iran Beirut embassy -- Daily Star/AFP
Fear of more bombings grips Lebanon -- Daily Star