At a time of regional uncertainty, it is important to note any signs of rapprochement and improved relations between Arab states. Therefore, it is exciting to welcome the ongoing improvement of relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, and this week’s appointment of a new Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, and renewed Saudi encouragement for its citizens to visit Lebanon, including increasing the number of flights.
Relations between the two states have been tense since Saudi Arabia refused to accept Lebanese acquiescence in Iran’s assault on its embassy in Tehran, when the Lebanese foreign minister who came from the pro-Iranian Hezbollah faction refused to join the pan-Arab condemnation of the attack. As a result, Saudi Arabia cancelled $3 billion (Dh11 billion) of military aid and withdrew its ambassador to Beirut.
The key shift has been the appointments of Michel Aoun as President and Saad Hariri as Prime Minister in an organised compromise that ended years of a very destructive stand-off between Lebanon’s deeply divided political factions. Aoun is an ally of Hezbollah but he wanted to work with Hariri, and also sought to mend relations with Saudi Arabia. The result has been this welcome breakthrough, but there is still more to do.
It was a disaster that Hezbollah had so much autonomy in the previous vacuum of power that it managed to take control of Lebanon’s foreign policy. Hezbollah has been sponsored by Iran for decades and it a serious problem that it can act as if it was more Iranian than Lebanese.
The key to moving forward is for Hezbollah to stop acting as an Iranian proxy in the region. It needs to re-emphasise its Lebanese identity, and refute its links to Iran and its support for Iran’s meddling in Arab affairs. For example, it is a real danger that Hezbollah forces have been a major force behind the success of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in the Syrian civil war. In the early years of the war, the Syrian army was failing and had lost control of large parts of Syria, but the battle-hardened units sent by Hezbollah turned the tide and led to a government success, which was then further backed by direct intervention from Iran and finally by Russian military forces joining the fight. It is wrong that a Lebanese force should be siding with non-Arab forces to manipulate events in the Arab world, and Hezbollah should return to being a Lebanese political party like any other.
