Riyadh Tells Hizbullah to Mind its Own Business over Yemen Row
The Saudi Ambassador to Beirut, Ali Awadh Asiri, has urged Hizbullah without naming it to deal with its own issues rather than meddle in Riyadh's affairs.
The parties that “shove” themselves into the Saudi-led coalition's move against Huthi rebels in Yemen and which “have the audacity” to criticize Saudi Arabia “should deal with their own affairs,” Asiri said in remarks published on Thursday.
He hinted that Lebanon has no interest in being pushed in a battle that has no ties to it.
The diplomat warned in reference to Iran that Lebanon was being used as a mail box to serve regional sides whose sole interest is to tamper with the security and stability of the region.
Asiri told the Saudi Okaz daily that Riyadh only deals with the Lebanese government headed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam and its state institutions, which are keen on the best of ties between the two countries.
On Monday, Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared that Saudi Arabia will be defeated in the Yemeni conflict.
“Saudi Arabia will suffer a major defeat that will have an impact on its domestic situation and the entire region,” he told Syria's al-Ikhbariya in an interview that was broadcast by Tele Liban.
Saudi Arabia began its airstrikes in Yemen on March 25, announcing that it had put together a coalition of more than 10 countries, including five Gulf monarchies, for the military operation to defend Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansur Hadi's government against the Shiite Huthi rebels.
The military move against the rebels triggered fury from Saudi Arabia's rival Iran, Hizbullah's main regional ally, with officials in Tehran warning that the military action threatened to spill over into other countries.
In his remarks to Okaz, Asiri confirmed that Information Minister Ramzi Jreij telephoned him to apologize for TL's airing of the interview from al-Ikhbariya, which is backed by Syria's Assad regime.
The minister promised him to hold the employees behind the airing accountable, said Asiri.
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