GCC backs Saudi decision to halt $4bn Lebanese arms deal

The decision was announced by Saudi officials Friday in retaliation for Lebanon’s siding with Iran in the Sunni kingdom’s spat with the Shiite power.

A Lebanese military source told AFP that the “Lebanese army command hasn’t been informed” of the Saudi aid halt.

In a first sign of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’s (OPEC) and non-cartel producers’ scramble to find ways to prop up the oil market, Saudi Arabia and Russian Federation announced Tuesday that they would freeze output if other major producers followed suit.

Suleiman expressed regret over the misunderstanding that was brought about by “not acting wisely on Arab issues” and said that “Lebanon should have been a solid defender (of these issues) as it was always a pioneer in defending them”.

The Saudi official said Lebanon had not joined condemnation of the attacks on its diplomatic missions in Iran, either at the Arab League or the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Pro-Saudi Lebanese politicians said Hezbollah and its allies were to blame for not backing the kingdom in its conflict with Iran. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are increasingly at odds in the oil business since Western sanctions against Iran were lifted last month.

Rifi’s resignation statement also cited alleged Hezbollah interference in the case of Lebanon’s former information minister Michel Samaha, who is facing charges of having planned “terrorist” acts.

Current Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam is a strong ally of Saudi Arabia and has called on the kingdom to reconsider its decision.

“The entire world and especially the Lebanese and the local and worldwide financial institutions know full well that Saudi Arabia is suffering a severe financial crisis”, Hezbollah said.

“Lebanon’s official position has been hijacked and turned against the interests of Lebanon itself and the interests of Arabs, something evident in the so-called Hezbollah’s domineering and hijacking of Lebanon’s official decision, which led to Lebanon taking an incongruous position that is against the pan-Arab interests”, the statement carried by WAM said, referring to the failure by Lebanese officials to condemn an attack on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran by an angry mob on January 2.

Bahrain News Agency quoted a statement by the Foreign Ministry that Bahrain values the Saudi decision and considers it a necessary step.

This included a deal for about 200 armoured vehicles.