Saturday, Kuwait announced the recall of its ambassador to the Lebanese Republic and the departure of the Lebanese ambassador to Kuwait within the next 48 hours, in response to statements made by the Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kordahi, against Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to Alrai.

Earlier Saturday, Bahrain requested the departure of the Lebanese ambassador to Bahrain within the next 48 hours.

The ministry clarified that this decision does not affect the Lebanese residing in Bahrain.

Kordahi had stressed that his words represent his own opinion, not the view of the Lebanese government.

For the entire sequence of events, read the following:

Monday:

• In an interview that aired on Monday, Oct. 25, the Minister of Information commented on the war in Yemen stating that the Houthis are “exercising self-defense against external aggression” and “protecting their land.”
  
  When questioned if Saudi Arabia and the UAE were “aggressing against Yemen,” Kordahi said: “There is certainly aggression. The aggression has been ongoing for nearly eight years.”

Wednesday:

• Saudi Arabia summoned its ambassador in Lebanon in protest to the statements they described as “offensive towards the efforts of the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen.”
  
  The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its regret “for the insults in these statements directed at the Kingdom and the countries of the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, statements which are a clear bias towards the terrorist Houthi militia, which threatens the security and stability of the region.”
  
  The ministry stressed that the statements “contradict the simplest political norms, and are inconsistent with the historical relations” between the two countries.

• Then, Kordahi refused to apologize because the interview was recorded on Aug. 5 which was before he “assumed the position as minister.”
  
  He also said in a press conference that he did not offend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, stressing that he is against the Arab-Arab wars.

• The Lebanese and Yemeni governments as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council expressed their rejection and disapproval of the statements as well.

• The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday summoned the ambassador of Lebanon and handed him a protest note in which it expressed its “strong condemnation” of the statements.
  
  The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Kordahi's statements regarding the course of the war in Yemen are “false allegations that are denied by documented facts and internationally proven evidence,” according to Asharq News.
  
  The protest note said, "These irresponsible statements violated diplomatic norms, represented an intentional insult to the countries of the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, and ignored the principles and values that govern fraternal relations between Arab countries."

Thursday:

• The Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, talked about the controversial statements and said: "Minister Kordahi’s statements were issued before his appointment, and therefore do not reflect the viewpoint of the Lebanese state, which is keen to do everything that contributes to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's standing alongside the people of Lebanon, especially in the current circumstances."
  
  Aoun added: "The positions of any Lebanese political party should not be considered the positions of the Lebanese state, and should be dealt with on this basis."

Friday:

• Saudi Arabia announced the recall of its ambassador to the Lebanese Republic and the departure of the Lebanese ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the next 48 hours.

• The Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, said in a statement regarding Saudi Arabia’s decision, "We have always expressed our rejection of any abuse directed towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we have called for correcting the flaws in the relations between the two brotherly countries... and we stressed in the ministerial statement that one of the priorities of our government is work to restore historical relations and ties between Lebanon and its Arab brothers, as we expressed and stressed two days ago that the position of Minister of Information George Kordahi, which he announced before assuming his ministerial duties, does not represent the government’s opinion, and we affirmed our keenness on the Lebanese-Gulf relations, and we hoped that the Lebanese-Saudi relations in particular would be restored."
  
  He added, "We deeply regret the kingdom's decision, and we hope that the kingdom's leadership, with its wisdom, will reconsider it, and we, for our part, will continue to work with every effort and perseverance to fix the flaws complained of and address what must be addressed."

• The Lebanese PM’s office announced that Najib Mikati asked Kordahi, in a phone call, to “assess the national interest and take the appropriate decision to reform Lebanon's Arab relations.”
  
  According to the PM’s office, Mikati called Kordahi “after Mikati consulted with President Michel Aoun on the developments.”

• Friday evening, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, blamed Hezbollah for the tension that erupted between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, accusing it of “declaring hostility to Arabs and the Arab Gulf states.”
  
  Hariri said, in a statement issued on social media: “If relations between Lebanon and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab Gulf states have reached this level of irresponsibility and bullying, this certainly means that we, as Lebanese, are already living in hell.”
  
  “Reckless and arrogant policies in the name of sovereignty and empty slogans have decided to lead Lebanon to an unprecedented isolation,” he continued.
  
  “As for the price of this isolation, it will be paid for by the Lebanese people, who are already suffering from their afflicted economy and livelihoods, and suffer from the worst insults on a daily basis, with no government officials batting an eyelid.”
  
  Hariri added that “the responsibility, first and foremost, in this regard lies with Hezbollah, which declares hostility to the Arabs and the Arab Gulf states.”

• The Lebanese Foreign Minister, Abdullah Bou Habib, announced that he will head a special crisis management cell to heal the rift in the relationship with Saudi Arabia.
  
  Bou Habib said in a statement, a copy of which was received by Roya, that what is currently happening is merely a problem and not a crisis.

• The Arab League expressed its concern over the rapid deterioration of relations between Lebanon and the Gulf states, expressing confidence in the ability of Lebanon's leadership to take the necessary steps to put an end to the crisis.
  
  The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, issued a statement today, Saturday, in which he expressed his “deep concern and regret at the rapid deterioration in the Lebanese-Gulf relations, especially at a time when the relentless efforts to restore a measure of positivity in those relations helped Lebanon to overcome the challenges it is facing.”
  
  An official source in the General Secretariat of the League stated, according to the statement, that the crisis caused by the resounding and controversial statements that were uttered by the Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kordahi, about the Yemen conflict and the subsequent events and positions, “should have been addressed in Lebanon in a way that defuses it and does not fuel its fire in this way and thus cause a major setback in the Lebanese-Gulf relations.”
  
  The source noted that Aboul Gheit has confidence in the wisdom and ability of Michel Aoun and Najib Mikati, to quickly take the “necessary steps that can put an end to the deterioration of those relations and contribute to calming down the situation in particular with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
  
  “As well as mend the rift caused by parties wishing to dismantle the brotherhood that binds Lebanon to the Gulf and Arab countries.”

Saturday:

• Kuwait announced the recall of its ambassador to the Lebanese Republic and the departure of the Lebanese ambassador to Kuwait within the next 48 hours, in response to statements made by the Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kordahi, against Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to Alrai.

• Earlier Saturday, Bahrain requested the departure of the Lebanese ambassador to Bahrain within the next 48 hours.
  
  The ministry clarified that this decision does not affect the Lebanese residing in Bahrain.