Saudi Arabia orders citizens to leave Lebanon ‘immediately’

Saudi Arabia has directed its citizens and residents in Lebanon to leave “as soon as possible,” according to a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Thursday, citing the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Saudi citizens have been advised not to travel to Lebanon from any international destination, SPA said.

Lebanese prime minister Saad Al Hariri resigned from his post last Saturday in a televised broadcast from Saudi Arabia.

Hariri blamed Iran and Hezbollah for his decision, adding that he feared there was an assassination plot against him.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Arab Gulf affairs Thamer al-Sabhan on Monday said Lebanon would “be dealt with as a government declaring war on Saudi Arabia” because of aggression by Hezbollah.

Lebanon must “work to fix matters before they reach the point of no return,” he added, in an interview with Al Arabiya TV.

Write to Jerusha Sequeira at jerusha.s@argaamnews.com