Lebanon to Partake in ‘Urgent’ Arab Summit

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Prime Minister Saad Hariri is scheduled to lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia to partake in “two emergency summits” in Saudi Arabia to discuss the escalating tensions in the Gulf, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“Lebanon had already received a Saudi invitation to participate in the 14th ordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on the same date. It was decided that the delegation be headed by Hariri, which carries nothing new except that the name of the summit was changed from Islamic summit to Arab summit,” informed sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Saudi Arabia had invited Gulf leaders and Arab states to two emergency summits in Mecca on May 30 to discuss recent "aggression and their consequences" in the region, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Tensions have soared in the Gulf with the US deploying an aircraft carrier and bombers to the region over alleged threats from Iran.

Four ships including two Saudi oil tankers were damaged in mysterious sabotage attacks Sunday off Fujairah, an emirate located at the crucial entrance to the Gulf.

That incident was followed by drone strikes Tuesday by Yemen's Huthi rebels on a major Saudi oil pipeline, which provided an alternative export route if the Strait of Hormuz closed.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to prevent shipping in Hormuz in case of a military confrontation with the United States, which has imposed sanctions on Tehran in recent months

Despite international scepticism, the US government has been pointing to increasing threats from Iran, a long-time enemy and also a rival of US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.

SourceNaharnet
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