The tea towel is burning.

After Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Kuwait also decided, on Saturday, October 30, to expel the Lebanese Chargé d'Affaires from the country and to recall its ambassador to Lebanon, saying it was reacting to remarks by the Lebanese Minister of Information. on the war in Yemen, in which Saudi Arabia is participating in the face of Houthi rebels close to Iran.

The words of the Minister of Information, Georges Kordahi, continue to embarrass the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, especially since Lebanon is still counting on potential financial aid from the Gulf to revive its economy in full swing. collapse.

"The State of Kuwait has decided to recall for consultations its ambassador to Lebanon and the departure of the Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Lebanese Republic to Kuwait within 48 hours," said the Foreign Ministry, quoted by the official Kuwaiti agency Kuna, explaining its decision by the "failure" of the Lebanese government to "respond to the unacceptable and reprehensible remarks made against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the (six countries) of the GCC", ( the Gulf Cooperation Council).

The ministry also points to the "failure of the government of the Lebanese Republic to take the necessary measures to prevent drug smuggling (...) to Kuwait and the rest of the GCC countries", while Saudi Arabia recently announced having confiscated thousands of captagon (amphetamine) pills hidden in imported fruit.

Diplomatic crisis between Riyadh and Beirut

Riyadh, Iran's main regional rival and leader of the Gulf Cooperation Council (which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman), recalled its ambassador on Friday. in Lebanon and demanded the departure from the Saudi kingdom of the Lebanese ambassador, in reaction to statements by the Lebanese Minister of Information who criticized the intervention of the military coalition led by Riyadh in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has also decided to "stop all Lebanese imports", saying "regrets" the deterioration of bilateral relations, according to an official statement.

The small kingdom of Bahrain also gave, Saturday, 48 hours to the Lebanese ambassador to leave its territory.

Embarrassment in Lebanon

In a television program dated August 5 and broadcast on Monday, Georges Kordahi, the current Lebanese Minister of Information but who was not yet a member of the government at the time, had described the war waged since 2015 in France as "absurd". Yemen by the military coalition in support of the government, and felt that it was "time for it to stop". 

The war in Yemen, which began in 2014, left tens of thousands of people dead, most of them civilians, and millions of people displaced.

The former TV presenter added that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels were defending themselves "against external aggression" and that "their homes, villages, marriages and burials were being bombed" by the coalition.

Riyadh said the remarks "undermined the efforts of the coalition" and were "not in harmony with the historical relations" between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

Georges Kordahi underlined having made remarks reflecting his "personal opinion" before his appointment on September 10.

He assured that he "did not attack Saudi Arabia" but refrained from apologizing.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that he wanted to "maintain the best relations with the kingdom" and recalled that Georges Kordahi's remarks "in no way reflected the position of the government".

Influence struggle

The President of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon said "deeply regret the decision of the" Saudi kingdom, expressing the "firm and categorical rejection of anything that harms the deep fraternal relations with the kingdom, which has always stood alongside the Lebanese people in the face of to its great challenges ".

Experts say the diplomatic crisis between Riyadh and Beirut goes beyond Minister Kordahi's remarks on the war in Yemen, reflecting a struggle for influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia, of which Lebanon is paying a heavy price in full economic collapse.

With AFP

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