Beirut (AP) A game show host-turned-cabinet minister-turned-television commentary in Lebanon about the war in Yemen has taken the country’s crisis with Saudi Arabia to new depths. Anger over George Kordahi’s comments further isolated Lebanon from Gulf Arab countries and threatened to split their new coalition government working to stem the country’s economic downturn.
The punitive measures of Saudi Arabia, once a key ally that poured millions of dollars into Lebanon, could cause more economic pain. The kingdom has banned all Lebanese imports, a major blow to a country whose main trading partners are in the Persian Gulf. This is the latest escalation in the long-standing rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Lebanon. Tensions have raged for years over the key role of the Iranian-backed extremist Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
Now Saudi officials say that dealing with the government in Beirut is pointless, with so much leaning toward Iran. But what exactly is behind Saudi’s angry response, and what does it mean for already beleaguered Lebanon? what was the spark? The immediate spark were the comments of Kordhi, who gained popularity in the Arab world for hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on the Saudi-owned TV network.
During a mock parliament recently recorded and streamed online, Kordahi asked questions from an audience of young people in the region. In one response, he called the war in Yemen absurd and said Iran-backed Houthi rebels had not attacked anyone and had a right to defend themselves. The online program was recorded about a month before Kordahi was made information minister in Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government in September. Kordahi was named by a Christian party primarily affiliated with Hezbollah.
Saudi officials described his remarks as offensive and biased towards the Houthis. Since 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis, who a year earlier took control of the capital of Sanaa and northern parts of Yemen. Most commentators have said they believed Kordahi’s comments were an excuse for the Saudis to vent their frustration over Iran’s influence in Lebanon.
What do Saudis want? The Saudis know they don’t want to increase Iranian influence in Lebanon, but they don’t know what to do about it, said Joseph Bhout, research director at the American University of Beirut. Saudi Arabia has long been a close ally of politicians in Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim community, which chooses the prime minister as part of the country’s sectarian system. But the state never created a divided community into a strong political proxy, the way Shiite Hezbollah with its powerful armed force became a staunch ally of Iran in Lebanon.
Especially since the 2005 assassination of its most powerful ally, former prime minister Rafik Hariri, the state has lost its tools of influence. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman its outspoken, some say brutal, foreign policy Saudi Arabia took sporadic action in trying to enforce its will, but in developing a coherent strategy or finding new well-vested allies. have failed. This could only be seen if Hezbollah and its allies came to dominate the recent Lebanese governments.
Saudi Arabia’s most drastic move came in 2017, when it forced then-prime minister Saad Hariri to announce his resignation, citing Hezbollah’s supremacy, in a televised statement from a brief visit to the kingdom, where he was clearly was placed against his will. The incident had the opposite effect. Hariri returned home and withdrew his resignation, supported by Hezbollah and its allies. He lost Saudi support.
Relations have been cold since then. Last spring, Saudi authorities banned the import of all Lebanese products that were used for drug smuggling. Recently, Riyadh refused to support Mikati as prime minister because of his alliance with Hezbollah. The Saudis found themselves alone when Washington and Paris expressed support for Mikati, hoping for some sort of leadership after more than a year without a government in Lebanon.
The dismayed Saudis seem to have taken a tough stand on Kordahi’s remarks. Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, withdrew their ambassadors from Lebanon and expelled Lebanese envoys to the kingdom. Impact on Lebanon The Saudi measures are a major blow to Mikati’s new government.
The import embargo means the loss of millions of dollars in desperate need of foreign exchange. Any further increase could undermine the jobs of the more than 350,000 Lebanese people in Gulf Arab states that send millions home in remittances. Mikati and other officials have appealed to Kordahi to resign from the cabinet, but are unsure whether this will resolve the rift.
Hezbollah has stood firmly behind the minister, saying his resignation would not solve the extortion effort to force Lebanon to change its foreign policy. All of this reflects more internal divisions in the already paralyzed government in the investigation into last year’s massive Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people. Hezbollah has demanded the removal of the Chief Investigating Judge. The worst street violence in recent years has raised fears of social tension ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in March, which are expected to be a test for Hezbollah and its allies.
In a WhatsApp message to his cabinet read out on local TV stations, Mikati said the country is on the edge of a swamp. He went to Glasgow to seek French and American mediation but his options were limited.
We know they are upset. We know they don’t want a strong government with Hezbollah,” Bahout said of the Saudis. We know they know we can’t have a government without Hezbollah. It’s completely blocked and deadlocked. The situation is there, he added. (AP).
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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