Saudi official decries Lebanese ‘silence’ on Hezbollah

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday met with a Saudi government minister in Riyadh who had earlier criticized what he described as Beirut’s “silence” regarding Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia group.

Following the Tuesday meeting, Hariri tweeted a photo of himself with Saudi Minister of State for Arab Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan with a captain reading, “A long meeting with his excellency and friend Thamer al-Sabhan”.

Al-Sabhan, for his part, tweeted afterwards that his meeting with Hariri had been “fruitful”.

Without elaborating, al-Sabhan said they both had agreed on a number of issues of mutual concern.

Hariri arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for an unannounced visit during which he discussed regional developments with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.

One day earlier, al-Sabhan had criticized what he described as Beirut’s “silence” over Hezbollah and its practices, especially in regards to the Syria conflict.

“It’s not strange that the terrorist militia [i.e., Hezbollah] takes part in a war against the [Saudi] kingdom upon directions from the lords of global terrorism [i.e., Iran],” he tweeted.

He added: “What’s strange is the silence of the Lebanese government and people.”

Hezbollah is represented in Lebanon’s current government.

A primary backer of Syria’s anti-regime opposition, Saudi Arabia is a staunch critic of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which fights alongside Assad regime forces in neighboring Syria.