Why are the Gulf countries fed up with Lebanon?

After having repeatedly issued warnings and signaled its discontent over Hezbollah’s stranglehold on the Lebanese political scene, Riyadh scored a double blow as it decided to step up its pressure over the weekend.

First, it set off a diplomatic earthquake following the shocking announcement of the near-rupture of relations with Beirut and suspension of all imports from Lebanon Friday evening, which then resulted in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and, more surprisingly, Kuwait, following in its footsteps over the weekend.

In reaction to the remarks made by Information Minister George Kurdahi in August, before being appointed minister, in which he strongly criticized the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in support of the government forces and sided with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the decision taken by Saudi Arabia heralds the opening of an unprecedented chapter in relations between Beirut and the Gulf countries which is likely to be prolonged.

“Saudi Arabia is in the process of disengaging from Lebanon,” Emile Hokayem, a researcher at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) says.

“This is not necessarily tantamount to a strategic calculation, but more of a punishment imposed on those who flouted it,” he adds.

This episode is undoubtedly a continuation of the worsening relations and tensions between Lebanon and the kingdom that have increased since 2016. But never before in history was a diplomatic crisis between the land of the cedars and Arabian Peninsula of such a magnitude — despite the abduction of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Riyadh in 2017. Beirut has never before been subjected to such incisive and collective retaliatory measures.

“This time, the issues at stake touch on the Gulf countries’ national security — namely the activities of Hezbollah, which has influence in Lebanon, and in Yemen where it trains the Houthis, the discovery of several cells tied to Hezbollah in the Gulf countries, and the ongoing drug trafficking,” explains Bader al-Saif, a professor at the University of Kuwait and a non-resident fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

In April, Riyadh banned imports of Lebanese agricultural produce after Saudi authorities seized some 5 million captagon pills hidden in a shipment of pomegranates coming from Lebanon, which further deteriorated diplomatic relations amid the inaction of Lebanese Customs.

“There is a kind of cold anger and rancor that is hitting its peak today, which explains the Gulf unanimity,” Joseph Bahout, the director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, says.

King Salman thanked his Bahraini and Kuwaiti counterparts for their solidarity. However, as Oman has continued to pursue a neutral foreign policy, it has not joined its neighbors and has limited itself to calling upon all sides to demonstrate restraint.

Meanwhile Qatar, which has maintained a mostly cordial relationship with Tehran, attempted to smooth things over by strongly condemning Kurdahi’s “irresponsible” remarks without severing diplomatic ties with Lebanon.

Transactional vision

While the Saudi kingdom had already lost patience and distanced itself from Beirut in recent years due to the inability and, to a lesser extent, unwillingness of its local allies to stand up to Hezbollah and Tehran, the developments during the weekend rub it in: the time when the Gulf countries were ready to give a pass to deals made the “Lebanese way” — which consist of having a finger in every pie so that everyone seizes a slice of the political and financial benefits — and to run the money machine to keep the country afloat and in the Arab fold as a gateway to the West, is definitely over.

One characteristic of the current situation can also be found there: Lebanon’s relations with the new generation of leaders in the Arabian Peninsula, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed, are different from those they once had with their ancestors.

The new leaders’ approach, which is transactional and guided by the national interest, is solely rooted in realpolitik — a far cry from diplomatic relations that were based on friendships between Lebanese rulers and former rulers. Then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s forced resignation in Riyadh in November 2017is certainly the most striking example.

As it goes in line with the prevailing discourse in recent years, the current Saudi and Emirati attitude is not therefore surprising.

The same applies to Bahrain, which is often regarded as the backyard of Saudi and depends on KSA entirely for its security. On the other hand, Kuwait, whose new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah ascended to the throne in September, has departed from its traditionally moderate foreign policy.

“The former emir, Sheikh al-Sabah, served as foreign minister in 1960-2000 and was fully involved in regional policy and in Lebanon,” Hokayem says.

“The new Kuwaiti leadership does not espouse the same emotional approach that was in place in the past, nor the nostalgia for Lebanon,” he adds.

Qatari mediation

Beyond the security and diplomatic issues, the attitude of Riyadh’s neighbors is also part of the broader framework of ongoing negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file and the talks that Riyadh and Tehran have been engaged in in recent months, particularly with a view to finding a solution to the war in Yemen.

“These countries are starting to understand that if they want to preserve their cards in this large-scale Gulf negotiation, they probably need to harden their tone toward Iran. This matter is an opportunity to do so by way of Lebanon,” Bahout says.

By recalling its ambassador to Beirut, Walid Bukhari, for “consultations” and by giving the Lebanese ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Fawzi Kabbara, 48 hours to leave the kingdom and banning all imports of Lebanese products and parcel delivery, Riyadh has opted for the most draconian decisions.

More moderate, Bahrain, the UAE and Kuwait recalled their ambassadors to Lebanon and ordered Lebanese diplomats to their countries to leave. Abu Dhabi has also banned its citizens from traveling to Lebanon on security grounds, while the Emirati embassy in Beirut closed until further notice, diplomatic sources told L’Orient-Le Jour.

While contacts have been ongoing between Lebanon and the various international players at a frantic pace since Friday in a bid to find a way out of the crisis, Qatar would like to play the role of a mediator between its neighbors and the land of the cedars.

According to the press office of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, spoke with the Lebanese prime minister on the sidelines of the COP26 in Glasgow, and told him that Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani would visit Beirut “soon” in order “to study means to support Lebanon and continue to discuss the files that are currently on the table, particularly the resolution of the crisis.”

“Qatar was galvanized by the Afghan issue,” al-Saif says. They feel they can promote their soft power through mediation – similar to what Doha did in Gaza, Sudan and Lebanon in 2008.” 

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Joelle El Khoury.