On Monday, April 11, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that he would be visiting Saudi Arabia during the holy month of Ramadan. This statement made by Mikati follows the return of a Saudi Arabian ambassador to Beirut —the capital of Lebanon — earlier this month. The ambassador’s absence and the countries’ deteriorated relations were the results of a diplomatic rift between the two countries last year as well as years of persisting tension, causing this return to symbolize a sign of improving ties.
The severance of ties between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon occurred in October 2021 when former Information Minister George Kordahi criticized the Saudi-led military coalition’s involvement in Yemen, saying that the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen were “Defending themselves … against an external aggression.” He also said that “Homes, villages, funerals, and weddings were being bombed,” emphasizing the civilian crisis. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry responded, labeling these remarks as “Offensive” and “Clearly biased towards the terrorist Houthi militia that threatens the security… of the region.” Lebanon’s own government released statements following this conflict of words, stating that Kordahi’s statements “did not reflect the position of the government.”
However, beyond this one incident, ties between the two countries have been gradually deteriorating for years because the Saudi government blamed the Iranian Hezbollah influence for asserting dominance over Lebanese politics. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told Al Arabiya television last October, “There is no crisis with Lebanon, but a crisis in Lebanon because of Iranian dominance.” Looking ahead, Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has said that Lebanon “Will continue to work on strengthening ties and … will not allow any harm or offense to come its way from now on.”
Despite their newfound attempts at reconciliation, current solutions and the retying of bonds seem to neglect the ongoing violence in Yemen and the crisis being instilled among Yemenite citizens, which Kordahi criticized last Fall. Although Saudi Arabia states that their problem is with Iranian influence, Kordahi’s accusatory words on the country’s violence in Yemen were clearly a huge factor in initiating an official divide.
Even though Saudi Arabia blames the rebels in Yemen for the escalation of conflict and claims that Hezbollah fighters have been sent to Yemen as well, their own airstrike tactics against the Houthis have been deadly to civilians and cannot be ignored going forward. As detailed by BBC, the Saudi-led coalition’s “double-tap” attacks senselessly murder those who go to help rebels who have been injured in a first strike, and both sides of the conflict have committed possible war crimes.
Air raids and violence in Yemen have killed civilians at hospitals, schools, and markets throughout the war, according to Aljazeera. Further, according to the Human Rights Watch, the war itself has also caused more than half of the population to face acute levels of food insecurity and has displaced over 4 million. The Yemeni human rights group condemns the involvement of both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels, whose conduct has impeded Yemenite civilians’ access to food, water, and basic needs.
Although cooperation between these states is outwardly a sign of peace and movement in the right direction, neglecting the source of the initial conflict comes at the detriment of the citizens of Yemen. The deadly consequences of the failure to end this war will continue to grow until Saudi Arabia can address the accusations generated by Kordahi and amend its methods of dealing with the conflict with the Houthis in Yemen. Any group which criminally harms civilian citizens should be held accountable for their violent actions, and despite Lebanon’s economic motives with the United Arab Emirates, they must heed Kordahi’s words and hold Saudi Arabia and other groups to a higher standard of conduct in Yemen.
