The purge of the Saudi royal family, camouflaged as an anti-corruption drive, has torn apart its erstwhile unity, while the forced resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister has reinforced the battle lines in the volatile neighbourhood.
IT WAS A HECTIC TWO WEEKS FOR THE SAUDI Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS as he is now popularly known. In the first fortnight of November, the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia initiated a purge that involved the arrest of some of his royal half-brothers, leading businessmen, artistes and media professionals. He then announced a full blockade on Yemen after a missile fired from that country fell perilously close to the international airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. After that he did something unparalleled in the history of contemporary diplomacy or politics in the region. The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, was urgently summoned to Riyadh by the Saudi King. According to reports, he was promptly arrested after landing and given a prepared speech of resignation to read.
In the speech, broadcast on Saudi television, Hariri virulently denounced the role of the Hizbollah and Iran in Lebanon and the wider region. In language echoing that of recent speeches made by Saudi leaders, Hariri blamed Iran for “all the disputes and wars in the region”. Only a day before, Hariri had held cordial talks in Beirut with Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior foreign policy adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Velayati, a former Foreign Minister, praised Hariri, describing him as a “respectable man”, and reaffirmed Tehran’s support for Lebanon’s government. The next day, Hariri, who holds dual Lebanese-Saudi citizenship, was summoned to Riyadh on the express orders of the Saudi monarch. The Saudi government also owes his construction firm billions of dollars in unpaid bills. The Lebanese Prime Minister was ordered to come alone to Riyadh by the Saudi authorities. Even his chief of Cabinet was barred from accompanying him.
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