SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia calls on citizens to leave Lebanon immediately
Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon "as soon as possible."
An official source at the Saudi Ministry of Foriegn Affairs was quoted by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as calling on Saudis not to travel to Lebanon.
"Due to the situation in the Republic of Lebanon, the Kingdom asks its nationals visiting or residing in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible, and advises its citizens not to travel to Lebanon from any other international destinations," the official source said.
Minutes later, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry also ordered its nationals to leave Lebanon immediately, according to a statement carried by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
The Saudi and Kuwaiti positions come six days after the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri. He announced his resignation from Riyadh on Saturday.
Al-Hariri accused Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, of “controlling the Lebanese state,” and pointed out that he sensed that something was being plotted covertly to target his life.
Bahrain already asked its citizens on Sunday to avoid travelling to Lebanon and advised those already in the country to leave immediately for their safety.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir on Thursday accused Hezbollah of "hijacking the system" and putting "roadblocks in front of Al-Hariri" at every opportunity.
In an interview to CNBC's Hadley Gamble, he said: "Hezbollah put roadblocks in front of every initiative that Prime Minister Hariri tried to implement. Hezbollah has pretty much hijacked the Lebanese system. It has been the instrument that Iran used to dominate Lebanon, the instrument that Iran used to interfere with Syria, with Hamas, and with the Houthis. We see Hezbollah’s mischief all over the region. Hezbollah has been responsible for smuggling weapons into Bahrain. Hezbollah is involved in criminal activity, such as drug dealing and money laundering."