BEIRUT — Saudi Arabia ordered the Lebanese ambassador to leave within 48hours on Friday and banned all Lebanese imports in response to criticalcomments made by a Lebanese minister about the Saudi-led militaryintervention in Yemen.
The diplomatic rupture throws Lebanon’s cabinet into further crisis as ittries to rally Arab support for its ailing economy, reported CNBC.
Saudi Arabia also recalled its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations, theSaudi state news agency SPA reported.
Riyadh’s decision comes days after an interview with Information MinisterGeorge Kordahi was aired by an online show affiliated with Qatar’s alJazeera network.
Kordahi, in comments made on Aug. 5, called the war futile, said Yemen wassubjected to an aggression and that its Iran-aligned Houthis were defendingthemselves.
The dispute is the latest challenge to Prime Minister Najib Mikati’scabinet, which is already in political paralysis over a row around theBeirut port blast probe.
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The rift risks widening to more Gulf states as Bahrain also asked Lebanon’sambassador to leave shortly after the Saudi decision.
Mikati, in a phone call with Kordahi on Friday evening, asked him to putthe national interest first and “take the right decision to fix Arabrelations with Lebanon,” a statement by his office said.
Sources with knowledge of the matter had told Reuters the Saudi escalationwas piling pressure on Kordahi to resign to avert further consequences.
