Saudi Arabia Wants To Enter Into Talks With Hezbollah

 

The Cradle: Saudi Arabia seeks dialogue with Hezbollah: Report 

 This comes as part a major Saudi policy shift, which has seen the kingdom restore ties with Iran and open up to both Hamas and the Damascus government  

Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar released a report on 29 April claiming that Saudi Arabia is seeking to establish a line of dialogue with Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, coming in the aftermath of Riyadh’s reconciliation with Iran and Syria and following years of non-existent relations between the two sides. 

According to Al-Akhbar, information provided by an unnamed Saudi official “reached Lebanese officials from a European capital,” which reveals that the kingdom hopes to open dialogue with Hezbollah “soon.” 

The newspaper vaguely cites “unofficial sources in Beirut” as saying that the dialogue would “be conducted through a third party.”  

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 Update: Saudi Arabia seeks dialogue with Lebanese Hezbollah movement (Mehr News Agenct)  

WNU Editor: It looks like the Saudis are giving the finger to the U.S. and its policy of isolating Hezbollah. The realignment of the Middle East is accelerating.

Hezbollah Leader: Saudi Arabia Has 'Declared War' On Lebanon

The Independent: Saudi Arabia has 'declared war' on Lebanon, says Hezbollah leader

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday Saudi Arabia had declared war on Lebanon and Hezbollah, and said Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned in a speech from Riyadh on Saturday, was being detained in Saudi.

In a televised address Mr Nasrallah said Mr Hariri's resignation was an "unprecedented Saudi intervention" in Lebanese politics and called for Mr Hariri to return to Lebanon. He said Lebanon's government was still legitimate and had not resigned.

Mr Nasrallah said war with Israel was unlikely amid the crisis facing his country. He said his powerful militant group is watching carefully for any Israeli attempts to use the crisis to begin hostilities against Lebanon. Mr Nasrallah said Israel was cautious and unlikely to make such a move.

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More News On Hezbollah Leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Declaring That Saudi Arabia Has 'Declared War' On Lebanon

Hezbollah says Saudi declares Lebanon war with Hariri detention -- Reuters
Lebanon's Hezbollah accuses Saudi of detaining Hariri -- AFP
Saudi Lebanon: Hezbollah lashes out over Saad al-Hariri -- BBC
Saad Hariri: Hezbollah and Lebanese government demand return of prime minister ‘kidnapped’ by Saudi Arabia -- The Independent
Nasrallah warns Israel not to exploit crisis in Lebanon but says war is 'unlikely' -- The Jerusalem Post

Is The Conflict Between Hezbollah And Saudi Arabia Now Becoming Open Warfare?

Hizballah’s War Of Shadows With Saudi Arabia Comes Into The Light -- Time

As the sectarian violence of Syria's conflict spills over, the proxy struggles between Lebanon's influential Shiite organization Hizballah and the staunchly Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia have turned into open war

Speeches by Hizballah head Hassan Nasrallah are usually predictable affairs. Each time he speaks, be it in front of the podium or from a secure, undisclosed location, the bearded, turbaned and bespectacled leader blends fiery rhetoric, anti-western exhortations and bombast in a familiar pattern designed to inspire his followers, fire up new recruits and strike fear into enemy Israel. But in an interview with Lebanese TV station OTV late Tuesday night, he went radically off script, zeroing in on a new target for his rhetorical darts: Saudi Arabia.

Nasrallah rarely mentions Saudi Arabia by name, only referring to the monarchy in vague terms in order to maintain plausible deniability. But that all changed on Tuesday, when he accused Saudi agents of being behind the suicide bomb attack on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut last month that claimed 23 lives. In doing so he has openly declared a war that has long been fought in the shadows, first in Lebanon where Hizballah-allied parties are at a political impasse with the Saudi-backed Future Movement of Saad Hariri, and now in Syria, where Hizballah, with Iranian assistance, is fighting on the side of President Bashar Assad against Saudi-backed rebels.

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Update #1: Hezbollah chief accuses Saudi intelligence of being behind Iran Embassy bombings in Beirut -- FOX News/AP
Update #2: Saudi-linked group behind Iran embassy attack: Hezbollah -- Daily Star

My Comment: This is open warfare .... and I expect this conflict to escalate further with Hezbollah targeting Saudi interests in the Middle East and maybe within Saudi Arabia itself.