Yemen Accuses Hezbollah of Helping Houthis in Saudi Border War
The development comes after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain all told their citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid traveling there this week. Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama issued statements on Tuesday calling on their citizens not to travel to Lebanon, long a favourite holiday destination for their citizens. The move came with more than a whiff of politics: the move followed a Saudi decision to cancel $4 billion in aid to Lebanon. Beirut failed to condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions after the kingdom beheaded a prominent Shiite cleric at the beginning of this year.
Historically, Lebanon has ties with regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The photos of Fardhat Nahm camp near Sanaa showed destruction of facilities belonging to Iran-backed Houthi militias and forces loyal to Saleh by the Saudi-led coalition.
The implications of the Saudi-Iranian clash go beyond this immediate feud, since both nations have competing interests in nearly every war and conflict in the Middle East, including a lengthy power struggle in Lebanon.
On the other hand, a number of politicians and ministers kept arriving at the Saudi embassy in Lebanon, to meet the ambassador Ali Awad Assiri and express their solidarity.
The Riyadh-Tehran rivalry also plays out in Lebanon’s divided government, which has two main blocs: a pro-Syria, Iran- backed group that includes Hezbollah and a Western-backed group, which is dominated by a predominantly Sunni party.
Although both Iran and Hezbollah have given vocal support to the Houthis, dismissed Hadi’s government as illegitimate and condemned Saudi involvement in the civil war, they deny giving the group military aid. The official said that the kingdom had noticed “hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state”.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Tammam Salam said that Lebanon should maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia and that Arab countries must garner a unified response to all obstacles that they face.