EXPLAINER: Why frustrated Saudi is lashing out at Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — A televised remark by a game show host turned Cabinet minister in Lebanon about the war in Yemen has taken the country’s crisis with Saudi Arabia to new depths.

Anger over George Kordahi’s comments led to steps by Gulf Arab countries that further isolate Lebanon and threaten to split its new coalition government, tasked with halting the country’s economic meltdown.

Punitive measures from Saudi Arabia, once an important ally that poured millions of dollars into Lebanon, could cause more economic pain. The kingdom has banned all Lebanese imports, a major blow to a country whose main trading partners are in the Persian Gulf.

It is the latest escalation in the rivalry that has long played out in Lebanon between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Tensions have dragged on for years over the dominant role in Lebanon of the Iranian-backed militant Hezbollah group.

Now Saudi officials insist it is pointless to deal with the government in Beirut after so much drift toward Iran.

But what is really behind Saudi’s angry response, and what does it mean for the already embattled Lebanon?

WHAT WAS THE SPARK?

The immediate spark were comments by Kordahi, who had gained popularity in the Arab world for hosting “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" on a Saudi-owned TV network.

During a recent mock parliament recorded and streamed online, Kordahi fielded questions from an audience of young people from the region. In one answer, he called the war in Yemen “absurd” and said the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked no one and have the right to defend themselves.

The online program was recorded about a month before Kordahi was named information minister in the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, formed in September. Kordahi was named by a mainly Christian party allied to Hezbollah.

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