By HUNTER WILLIAMSON — whowhatwhy.org — As if Lebanon didn’t already have enough troubles, it’s now become a flashpoint in a regional power conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Already struggling with political paralysis and economic collapse, Lebanon faces a potentially perilous standoff with some powerful Middle East neighbors: Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries recalled their diplomatic representatives and ordered the expulsion of their Lebanese counterparts. The latest crisis was precipitated by Lebanon’s minister of information, George Kordahi, who has had harsh words about Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen’s bloody civil war. That conflict has pitted the government of Yemen, backed by the Saudis, against the Houthi rebels, who are receiving support from Iran, a longtime antagonist of Saudi Arabia. Some analysts have suggested that Saudi Arabia is using Kordahi’s remarks as a pretext for punishing the Lebanese government for its domination by Hezbollah, a political party with a strong paramilitary wing that receives considerable support from Iran. Kordahi’s interview took place in August, before he was named to the Lebanese government. Kordahi described the efforts of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies to help Yemen suppress the Houthi rebels as “futile,” and stated that the Houthis were merely fighting to defend themselves.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told CNBC Sunday morning that the diplomatic confrontation had less to do with Kordahi’s words than with the malign influence of Hezbollah on the Lebanese government: The comments by the minister are a symptom of a reality — a reality that the political scene in Lebanon continues to be dominated by Hezbollah, a terrorist group that by the way arms and supplies and trains the Houthi militia.

اليوم نحتفل بعيد جميع القديسين في حين ترقص الشياطين على ارض الوطن، فلنحسم قرارنا الى جانب من نقف مع الشياطين او مع القديسين ؟ دعوة المملكة العربية السعودية للحوار امر جيد وممتاز ، ولكن ماذا عن الحوار مع اطراف الداخل وفي مقدمهم حزب الله وحلفائه عن الحياد والسلاح والسياسة الخارجية والعلاقة مع الدول العربية وسيادة […]

by Holly Ellyatt @HOLLYELLYATT & Sam Meredith @SMEREDITH19 — cnbc — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has denied that the kingdom is experiencing a diplomatic crisis with Lebanon but has said the country sees any current engagement with Beirut as not “productive or useful.” The comments come after Saudi Arabia ordered Lebanon’s ambassador to leave the kingdom following what it saw as “insulting” remarks by a Lebanese minister. “I don’t think I would call it a crisis,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in Rome, Italy on Saturday, but said the comments by the Lebanese minister — which referred to Saudi Arabia’s role in the ongoing civil war in Yemen — demonstrated the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah was increasingly dominant in Lebanese politics. “I think we have come to the conclusion that dealing with Lebanon and its current government is not productive and not helpful with Hezbollah’s continuing dominance of the political scene, and with what we perceive as a continuing reluctance by this government and Lebanese political leaders in general to enact the necessary reforms, the necessary actions to push Lebanon in the direction of real change,” Prince Faisal said. “We have decided that I think engagement at this point is not productive or useful. And it’s not really in our interest.”

Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi made remarks in an interview in which he referred to the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen and called the war “futile.” He also appeared to insinuate that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were aggressors in the conflict. The ongoing civil war in Yemen, which has lasted seven years, has seen Saudi-led forces (who support the Yemeni government) fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for control of the country. Responding to the comments, Saudi Arabia ordered the Lebanese ambassador to leave within 48 hours on Friday and recalled its own ambassador from Lebanon. Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE also took similar actions in solidarity with Saudi Arabia. The Lebanese government has sought to calm the diplomatic crisis, reportedly saying that Kordahi’s remarks (which were made before he became a minister) did not reflect its position. There has been mounting pressure on the minister to resign too. For his part, Kordahi has said he did not mean to offend Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Prince Faisal told CNBC that the comments by the Lebanese minister were “a symptom of a reality, a reality that the political scene in Lebanon continues to be dominated by Hezbollah, a terrorist group, a group that by the way, arms and supplies and trains that Houthi militia.” “So for us, it is broader than just the comments of one minister, it is more an indication of the state that Lebanon is in.”

thearabweekly.com — CAIRO–Lebanon’s foreign minister said on Friday he was forming a group to heal a diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia that saw the kingdom order the Lebanese ambassador to leave within 48 hours and ban all Lebanese imports. The Saudi steps came in response to critical comments made by a Lebanese minister about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdullah Bou Habib said in a statement the situation with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries was not a crisis, adding that it could be solved through dialogue. The row over critical comments made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen threw the government into a new crisis amid calls for Kordahi’s resignation. If Kordahi resigns, ministers backed by the heavily armed Hezbollah group and its Amal ally could follow suit at a time when the government is already paralysed by a dispute over an inquiry into the August 2020 Beirut blast.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati asked Kordahi on Friday evening to consider Lebanon’s “national interest” but stopped short of asking for his resignation. A group of former Lebanese prime ministers called on Saturday for Kordahi to resign, saying his comments had inflicted a strong blow to relations with Gulf Arab nations. Fouad Seniora, Saad al-Hariri and Tammam Sallam said in a statement that Kordahi’s remarks “harmed Lebanon’s supreme national interest”. Kordahi has been publicly backed by Hezbollah and has declined to apologise or resign over the comments, which have dealt the worst blow to Saudi-Lebanese relations since Hariri’s 2017 detention in Riyadh.

by naharnet.com — Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh on Saturday defended Information Minister Georges Kordahi after KSA, Kuwait and Bahrain expelled the Lebanese ambassadors in protest at his remarks over the Yemen war. “Minister Kordahi’s remarks reflected his opinion 20 days before he knew he’d become minister. He has proposed to me that he offer […]

by arabnews — CAIRO: The Arab League on Saturday said Lebanese officials should have dealt differently with the crisis stemming from comments by the country’s information minister which have impacted its relations with countries in the Gulf region. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit “expressed his deep concern and regret over the rapid deterioration in Lebanese-Gulf relations…,” the league statement said. He also said that there are parties that have an interest in dismantling Lebanon’s relations with Arab countries. The statement added Aboul Gheit was confident Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati would act quickly to ease the crisis.

Aboul Gheit appealed to Gulf countries “to reflect on the measures proposed to be taken…in order to avoid further negative effects on the collapsing Lebanese economy”. The statement came a day after Saudi Arabia ordered the Lebanese ambassador to leave the Kingdom within 48 hours and banned all Lebanese imports in response to remarks by the Lebanese minister, who described the war in Yemen as Saudi “aggression.” Hours later, Bahrain ordered the Lebanese ambassador to leave the country within two days for the same reason, Bahrain’s foreign ministry said. (With Reuters)

بين رحيل وزير  او افساد  العلاقات مع المملكة العربية السعودية ودول الخليج التي تحتضن مئات الاف اللبنانيين نفضل ان يرحل الوزير باي شكل من الاشكال. لا يجوز لشخص او لحزب بمفرده ان يفسد علاقاتنا مع محيطنا الطبيعي تحت اي حجة كانت…. كفى .

The Vatican declined to comment Friday on U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement that Pope Francis encouraged him to keep receiving Holy Communion during a private audience. The Vatican, which has a long-standing policy of not commenting on specific statements attributed to the pope during private meetings, emphasized that the encounter between the two men on Oct. 29 was “a private conversation.” Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See press office, told reporters: “I would consider it a private conversation, and it is limited to what was said in the public statement.”

By Simon Caldwell — catholicherald.co.uk — US President Joe Biden has boasted how the Pope gave him his blessing to continue receiving Holy Communion because he was a “good Catholic” – in spite of an outcry over his record of support for abortion. Speaking to reporters after his first Vatican visit as US president, Mr Biden said he and the Holy Father did not discuss abortion once during a conversation which lasted an estimated 90 minutes. “We just talked about the fact he was happy I was a good Catholic and I should keep receiving Communion,” President Biden said. The revelation is bound to inflame sentiments among many Catholics, including some US bishops, who believe it is a public scandal for Mr Biden to continue to receive the sacrament given his support for liberal abortion policies.

At their November meeting, the US bishops will be considering the application of Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law which forbids Holy Communion to those who “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion”. They intend to address the problem of Catholic politicians – like President Biden and Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – who support and advance programmes, policies and laws for abortion while claiming to be devout Catholics and presenting themselves regularly for Holy Communion. The bishops are divided among themselves about to what extent they should intervene publicly with politicians who publicly dissent from fundamental aspects of faith and morals. Mrs Pelosi has repeatedly clashed with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco over her position, for instance. Earlier this year, however, she announced that she was “pleased” with a Vatican letter to the US bishops which she claimed had instructed the bishops not to be “divisive” on the issue of abortion.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanese President Michel Aoun has asked Russian ambassador Alexander Rudakov for satellite images from Aug. 4, 2020, when a huge explosion rocked Beirut’s port, according to a Lebanese presidency tweet on Friday. The blast killed more than 215 people, injured thousands and destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital. The lead investigator of […]

BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Friday ordered the Lebanese ambassador to the kingdom to leave the country within 48 hours and stopped all imports from Lebanon, a response to comments by a Lebanese minister who described the war in Yemen as Saudi “aggression.” Hours later, the Kingdom of Bahrain ordered the Lebanese ambassador to leave the country within two days for the same reason, Bahrain’s foreign ministry said. Lebanon’s prime minister and president discussed the Saudi decision and asked the country’s information minister to take the “appropriate decision,” an apparent call for him to resign in hopes it will ease the tension.

Saudi state media added in its report that the kingdom’s ambassador to Beirut was also asked to head back home. The report said that the move will not affect tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens and their families who live and work in the oil-rich kingdom. The Saudi decision to ban imports from Lebanon comes at a time when the small nation is in bad need for foreign currency as it passes through its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. Since Lebanon’s economic meltdown began in late 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value, tens of thousands lost their jobs and now three quarters of its residents live in poverty. Regional economic powerhouse Saudi Arabia, one of the world largest oil producers and exporters, has been a major market for Lebanese products over the decades. The decision came days after a video circulated on social media in which Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi described the war in Yemen as aggression by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He added that the war in Yemen is “absurd” and must stop because he is opposed to wars between Arabs.