Lebanon needs to show that Hezbollah can change behaviour, Bahrain minister says

Send a link to a friend  Share

[November 20, 2021]  DUBAI (Reuters) -Bahrain's foreign minister, Abdullatif Al Zayani, said on Saturday that Lebanon needs to demonstrate that its powerful Iran-allied Hezbollah movement can change its behaviour to mend a rift with Gulf Arab states.

Lebanon is facing a diplomatic crisis with Gulf states, triggered by a minister's critical comments about the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen that prompted Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait to expel Lebanon's top diplomats and recall their own envoys.

Concerned about Hezbollah's growing influence, Gulf states - traditional aid donors to Lebanon - have been withholding support to the country which is suffering a deep economic crisis.

"We (can) extend support and try to find solutions in the future, but once it is demonstrated that Hezbollah can be changing its behaviour," Zayani told the IISS Manama Dialogue security forum in Bahrain.

Riyadh, locked in a regional rivalry with Iran, has said its measures last month against Lebanon, including an import ban, were not only in response to the minister's remarks, but were also to demonstrate unease over Hezbollah's "domination" of Lebanese politics.

[to top of second column]

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani addresses the media during a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas after a meeting in Berlin, Germany, August 11, 2021. Michael Sohn/Pool via REUTERS

Lebanon's newly appointed information minister George Kordahi said his remarks were made in an interview before he joined the cabinet and has refused to apologise or step down. Hezbollah's leader has supported him in the diplomatic row and rejected calls for his resignation.

(Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ros Russell)
 

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.

Back to top