The Lebanon-Gulf Crisis is escalating quickly along with concerns about the consequences that it will have on Lebanon and reportedly on the balance of power between the Arab Gulf and Iran, which has been at play in the country’s politics.
Following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was quick to announce its measures against Lebanon in reaction to the Lebanese Information Ministry, George Kordahi.
On Sunday, the same day in which the Saudi Foreign Minister declared that his country has no interest in relations with Lebanon, the UAE issued a statement calling its citizens to leave Lebanon right away.
“In light of current events [… ]the foreign ministry calls on all its citizens in Lebanon to return to the UAE as soon as possible,” the UAE foreign ministry said in its statement, assuring its nationals that “the ministry has taken all necessary measures to facilitate the return of its citizens.”
A day earlier, on Saturday, the UAE decided to pull its diplomats from Lebanon, after condemning the statements of Kordahi over the Yemeni war.
That same day, Kuwait expelled the Lebanese ambassador, and Bahrain gave 48 hours for the Lebanese ambassador to leave, so did Saudi Arabia.
These severe reactions by the once-friendly Arab Gulf countries came right after Saudi Arabia‘s put a stop to all imports from Lebanon and banned travel to Lebanon.
The Lebanese government has been acting too slow in its response to prevent the escalation of this crisis, which price will be high on Lebanon in many aspects.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati had simply said that Kordahi’s opinion is his own, indicating that it is not Lebanon’s stance towards the Yemeni war.
Lebanese politicians seemed to differ in opinions, with some calling for Kordahi’s resignation and some refusing the concept.
The UAE now calling for its citizens in Lebanon to leave the soonest possible is most unsettling in what it stipulates of expected reactions against the nationals of these Arab Gulf countries cutting ties with Lebanon.
The recent blazing reactions to Kordahi’s expressed opinion over the Yemeni war, whether by these governments or their nationals on social media, ensued surprisingly months after his televised interview. At the time, he wasn’t part of the Lebanese government nor an official.
A deeper and more complex problem exists between the Arab Gulf and Lebanon, and it has been dragging untackled for a few years now, with the once-cold tension now heating up dramatically.
The Saudi Foreign Minister did explain it in his Sunday’s interview with CNBC and it is particularly related to Hezbollah and its “continuing dominance of the political scene,” he said.
Their problem, as the Saudi Foreign Minister openly said, is “with Lebanon’s current government” of which Hezbollah is part of; an Iran-backed party they deem to be “a terrorist group that arms, supplies, and trains Houthi militia.”
That has materialized in unproductive relations with the Lebanese government, he noted.
