Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif Al Zayani, said on Saturday that Lebanon “needs to demonstrate that Hezbollah movement can change its behavior” to mend a rift with Gulf Arab states.
“We (can) extend support and try to find solutions in the future, but once it is demonstrated that Hezbollah can be changing its behavior,” Zayani told the IISS Manama Dialogue security forum in Bahrain.
The Bahraini diplomat added that “diplomacy is vital tool in order to practice efficient and covert deterrence.”
In this context, Zayani said such ‘deterrence’ must be practiced against both states and non-governmental sides.
Saudi Arabia has been leading attempts to press Lebanese government to resign over remarks made by Information Minister George Kordahi on the Saudi-led war on Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait to expel Lebanon’s top diplomats and recall their own envoys.
In an Al Jazeera-affiliated youth show last August, Kordahi was asked the difference between the Lebanese Resistance group Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis. The information minister said Houthis defending themselves against Saudi and Emirati aggression on their country.
Kordahi defended his comments, saying he voiced his personal views before being appointed as an information minister.
Source: Israeli media (edited by Al-Manar English Website)
