Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Sep 15, 2025

Saudi announces return of ambassador to Lebanon

Saudi announces return of ambassador to Lebanon

Relations have been tense since last year after a former minister criticised Saudi’s role in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that it was sending an ambassador to Lebanon for the first time since a row broke out with Beirut last year over the Riyadh-led military intervention in Yemen.

The foreign ministry “announces the return of the ambassador … to the sisterly Republic of Lebanon”, read a statement carried by state media.

The ambassador is returning in response to calls by “moderate” Lebanese political forces, the foreign ministry said, and after remarks by Prime Minister Najib Mikati regarding “ending all political, military and security activities” that affect Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

A diplomatic crisis erupted last October after then-Information Minister George Kordahi was quoted criticising Saudi Arabia’s role in Yemen, where a grinding war has produced what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.


Kordahi, who has since resigned, said in a television interview that the Houthi rebels fighting Yemen’s internationally-recognised government were “defending themselves … against an external aggression”.

He said “homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed” by the Saudi-led coalition, and called the war in Yemen “futile”.

The Houthis are backed by Saudi’s regional rival Iran, which has significant influence in Lebanon, where it backs the powerful Shia movement Hezbollah.

In response to Kordahi’s remarks, Riyadh recalled its ambassador and ordered Lebanon’s envoy to leave the kingdom. Riyadh’s Gulf allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait followed suit, expelling Lebanese envoys.

Kuwait also announced Thursday the return of its ambassador to Beirut following the Saudi decision.

The diplomatic row, which has also seen Saudi Arabia ban the imports of Lebanese goods, was a blow to a country already in the grip of crippling political and economic crises.

Lebanon, which had been counting on financial assistance from the Gulf to rescue its economy, welcomed the Saudi announcement.

Prime Minister Mikati, in a Twitter post welcoming the move, said Lebanon was “proud of its Arab affiliation and upholds the best relations with Gulf states”, describing them as pillars of support.

‘Worries’ over Hezbollah


Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi also praised the move.

“Once again the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has proven, by the return of its ambassador … that Lebanon is in its heart and conscience and that it will never abandon it,” Mawlawi said.

“We will continue to work on strengthening ties and we will not allow any harm or offence to come its way from now on,” he added.

Angered by the influence of the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, which wields strong influence over many of the smaller Gulf states, had stepped back from its former ally Beirut in recent years.

Riyadh has long accused Tehran of supplying the Houthis with sophisticated weapons and its Hezbollah proxy of training the armed group – charges that Iran denies.

Saudi Arabia said in December that it had “evidence of involvement of Lebanon’s terrorist Hezbollah in Yemen”, including using the airport in Yemen’s capital Sanaa “to target the kingdom”.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had blamed deteriorating ties with Beirut on Hezbollah and Iran’s dominance over Lebanese politics.

“There is no crisis with Lebanon, but a crisis in Lebanon because of Iranian dominance,” he told Al Arabiya television in October.

“Hezbollah’s dominance of the political system in Lebanon worries us,” he said.

Hezbollah supports Tehran in its regional struggle for influence with US-allied Gulf Arab states. The group and its allies also exercise major sway over Lebanese state policy.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
×