Riyadh –
leader Hizbullah gave the King a ‘terrorist’ stamp Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saudi. The words of Hezbollah leaders made Saudi blood boil.
Reporting from DW, Friday (1/7/2022), Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused Riyadh of helping spread the ideology of Islamic extremism throughout the world. He says thousands of Lebanese working in the Gulf region are ‘hostages’ Saudi Arabia.
His remarks, delivered Monday in Beirut, were a reaction to comments by King Salman who called on the Lebanese population “to end Hezbollah’s terrorist rule” in a speech last week.
Hezbollah, often referred to as representing Iran’s interests, is one of the largest political and military forces in Lebanon. Hezbollah is not only active in the government, but also supports Iran’s military aggression in the neighboring country.
The war of words rages on as the Lebanese government is working to restore relations with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador in Riyadh and banned imports of all kinds of products from Lebanon in October 2021.
The chaos began when a member of the Lebanese cabinet attacked Saudi Arabia about the war in Yemen. In a television interview, Information Minister George Kordahi said the conflict was the fruit of Saudi Arabia’s aggression.
Kordahi finally resigned early last December. However, the move failed to ease tensions with Riyadh.
The Yemen conflict itself is a burden on diplomatic relations. The war in the Gulf of Aden began in 2014 when the capital Sanaa was seized by the Houthi rebels who control Yemen’s north.
A year later, the coalition formed by Saudi Arabia launched a bloody intervention with the mission of restoring an internationally recognized official government.
Back to Nasrallah’s statement. The Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, insisted that the views of Hezbollah leaders did not represent the attitude of the government or the ‘majority of the Lebanese population’.
He called on Lebanese politicians to put the country’s interests first by not making ‘misleading’ statements.
Indeed, what did Nasrallah say?
Read more on the next page.
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