UAE, Kuwait, KSA & Bahrain Withdraw Ambassadors Over Lebanese Minister’s Yemen Comments

A diplomatic crisis between several wealthy GCC states and their tiny, cash-strapped Arab neighbor, Lebanon, expanded on Saturday as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait pulled their ambassadors from Beirut, one day after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the Kingdom of Bahrain did the same.

The GCC nations said they were withdrawing their diplomats in response to comments made by Lebanon’s information minister, George Kordahi, who called the war in Yemen a Saudi and Emirati “aggression” in a recent television interview. In addition to recalling their envoys, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain also expelled Lebanon’s ambassadors from their countries.

Although Saudi Arabia’s military campaign to oust the Houthi rebels from Yemen has been widely condemned, its Arab neighbors have avoided antagonizing the kingdom, given its role as regional heavyweight and banker.

The weekend’s diplomatic spat comes on the heels of an already terrible year for Lebanon, a state in rapid financial and political decline. Seventy-eight percent of Lebanon’s population is estimated to be living in poverty amid an economic collapse that has enormously inflated prices, rendered the currency nearly worthless, swallowed people’s savings and caused near-continuous power cuts and fuel shortages. The country can ill afford further problems with its rich neighbors or threats to the foreign investments on which it relies.