Four Gulf states recall Lebanon envoys after pro-Houthi comments

Four Gulf nations have withdrawn their envoys from Beirut following pro-Houthi comments made by a Lebanese minister.

The UAE recalled its diplomats yesterday, after Information Minister George Kordahi’s statement of support for the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen caused a diplomatic crisis with Gulf countries.

The Emirates is the fourth Gulf state to recall its representatives from Beirut in the past two days. It also banned its citizens from travelling to Lebanon.

“The UAE announces the withdrawal of its diplomats from Lebanon in solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in light of the unacceptable approach of some Lebanese officials towards the kingdom,” news agency Wam reported.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE have summoned their ambassadors to Lebanon for consultations and asked Lebanon’s representatives to leave their countries.

Saudi Arabia also banned all imports from Lebanon and asked the Beirut government to clarify its position.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said he was extremely worried about the rapid deterioration in Lebanon’s relations with Gulf states.

In a TV interview broadcast on Monday, Mr Kordahi said the Houthis, who seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and forced the internationally recognised government into exile, were “defending themselves ... against an external aggression”.

The interview was recorded before Mr Kordahi became Information Minister.

He said he will not apologise for his remarks.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Aoun said Mr Kordahi’s views did not represent those of the government.

Mr Kordahi’s remarks are the second time in six months that a Lebanese minister has criticised the Gulf.

In May, former foreign minister Charbel Wehbe resigned after saying that Gulf countries were responsible for the rise of ISIS. He also made derogatory comments about their people.

The US took action against Iran’s drone programme on Friday by placing four people and two entities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under sanctions.

The Treasury Department said the IRGC has provided unmanned aerial vehicles to groups including Lebanese militant organisation Hezbollah, and to Ethiopia, “where the escalating [military] crisis threatens to destabilise the broader region”.

Iranian drone strikes have been directed against tankers in the Arabian Gulf in recent years, including the May 2019 attack off Fujairah that damaged Saudi, Emirati and Norwegian commercial vessels.

“Iran and its proxy militants have used UAVs to attack US forces, our partners and international shipping,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury.

Sanctions were placed on the commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, Saeed Aghajani.

He was accused by the US of ordering drone attacks in Gulf waters over the past two years.

His unit orchestrated the July 29 attack on the 28,000-tonne oil tanker MT Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, which resulted in the deaths of two crewmen, the Treasury Department said.

“Aghajani also was behind a UAV attack against a Saudi Arabian oil refinery in 2019,” the statement read.

Also named in the list on Friday was the IRGC’s Gen Abdollah Mehrabi.

Two Iran-based drone companies, Kimia Part Sivan and engine builder Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar, along with two people affiliated with them, were added to the sanctions list for helping the IRGC modernise its drone programme.

The Treasury Department said the IRGC’s Quds Force has used and distributed drones throughout the region and that Iranian-funded groups including Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza, Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, and the Houthi rebel forces in Yemen have received Iranian drones.

The statement said the Ethiopian government has also used Iranian drones against rebels in the northern Tigray region.

Open-source intelligence website Oryx reported in August that Ethiopia had signed a contract with Iran for the delivery of Mohajer-6 surveillance and ground attack drones.

“After seemingly having arrived at Ethiopia’s Semara airport in north-eastern Ethiopia on August 1, the drones’ ground control station was then pictured as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the base not more than two days later,” the website said.

The Ethiopian embassy in Washington was not available for comment.