Saudi Arabia Halts Military Aid To Lebanon For Siding With Iran

Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi resigned from the cabinet yesterday over what he said was political rival Hezbollah’s domination of the state and government.

The Lebanese government will today meet to discuss the implications of the latest Gulf stance following Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it has stopped its military and security aid to Lebanon and that it will review relations with Lebanon as a result of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ stances which were not in line with Arab solidarity.

Many Lebanese are anxious about how Saudi policy will affect the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese employed in Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab states allied to it. The money they send home is crucial to the Lebanese economy.

“There is an armed party that is dominating the government’s decisions”, Rifi said.

Hariri’s direct appeal to King Salman reflects worries among Saudi Arabia’s allies in Lebanon that a major shift is under way in its policy towards the country.

Riyadh “is aware that these positions do not represent the Lebanese people and appreciates the stances issued by some Lebanese officials and personalities, including Prime Minister Tammam Salam, in support of the Kingdom”, he said.

Earlier Friday, Saudi Arabia announced it was canceling a combined $4 billion in pledged aid to the LAF and ISF, in response to the Lebanese government’s perceived siding with Iran in a bitter Saudi-Iran rivalry that is a key factor in conflicts across the region, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.

The statement asserted that the Saudi decision debunks KSA’s false allegations of fighting terrorism, including supporting the Lebanese army.

The Saudi decision came after Bassil declined to support Saudi resolutions against Iran during two meetings of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers.

Lebanon’s political scene is deeply divided, with the government split roughly between a bloc led by Hezbollah and another, the March 14 movement, headed by former prime minister Saad Hariri, to which Rifi belongs.

Rifi charged that Bassil “dared to offend the kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the request of Hizbullah. It wanted to use it as a tool to extend its control over the state and its decisions”, said Rifi, a vocal opponent of Hezbollah’s, according to AFP. The parliament has 33 times failed to elect a new head of state.

Rifi has also been campaigning against last month’s release of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.