The Lebanese Foreign Ministry expressed, in a statement, its "strong condemnation and denunciation of the failed attempt to attack Saudi Arabia using two explosive-laden drones." The coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen said on Tuesday that air defenses "intercepted and destroyed two explosive drones launched by the Houthi militias towards Jazan." The Lebanese Foreign Ministry also stated its solidarity "with the Kingdom in the face of any aggression that affects its sovereignty, security, stability, and civilian facilities in violation of international laws and charters." It confirmed "Lebanon's full solidarity and its support for the Kingdom, its people, and government."
Lebanese relations with some Gulf countries are experiencing a diplomatic crisis following تصريحات Minister of Information George Kordahi, which Saudi Arabia considered insulting. He described the war in Yemen as futile and called for its cessation as soon as possible, expressing sympathy for the Houthi militias, arguing that they "are defending themselves against an ongoing external aggression for years."
The crisis peaked in recent days when Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen, decided to withdraw their ambassadors and diplomatic staff from Lebanon, while both Qatar and Oman expressed their condemnation of those statements. Additionally, Saudi Arabia halted imports of Lebanese products and began withdrawing its interests from Lebanon, while DHL mail movement between the two countries stopped, an action described as a complete boycott of Lebanon.
The Saudi newspaper Okaz published leaked recordings of Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib during a press statement regarding the diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and Gulf countries, which it labeled as "hostile" towards the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, and "aligned with the malicious propaganda propagated by the leader of Hezbollah militia and his allies in Tehran, seeking to demonize the Gulf states and belittle them."
According to the newspaper, the minister later retracted these statements after advice from his advisers, attempting to conceal them to prevent them from reaching the media, seeking to persuade journalists not to publish them, as they contained positions and remarks that could "further ignite anger in the already tense Lebanese street against its government and its policies, and the confusion of its ministers," as stated by the newspaper.
