Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe is expected to step down from his position on Wednesday according to exclusive information reportedly acquired by the newspaper Lebanon Debate.
This comes after a wave of intense backlash against the Lebanese FM for his derogatory remarks towards the Arab Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia.
Wehbe had a public outburst during an interview on Al-Hurra where he lashed out with offensive comments about the Arab Gulf and stormed off the show when a Saudi political commentator didn’t refer to President Michel Aoun with the “proper title”.
This followed a heated discussion in which Wehbe implied that the Arab Gulf states were behind the terrorist group ISIS reaching Lebanon and neighboring countries.
Wehbe has since issued a public apology, saying that his intentions were not to offend the Arab Gulf nor its people… after demeaningly referring to them as “Bedouins.”
Deeming his remarks “unacceptable” and offensive, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef al-Hajraf, has demanded that Wehbe makes a formal apology to the Arab Gulf states.
Lebanese officials, activists, and celebrities have also rejected Wehbe’s controversial comments which have caused a threat to Lebanon’s diplomatic ties with countries across the region.
As of the time of writing, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates have reportedly summoned the Lebanese ambassadors in their countries to officially condemn Wehbe‘s comments.
Wehbe was appointed as Lebanon’s Foreign Minister on August 3rd, 2020 – the day before the Beirut blast.
