Analysis | Lebanon fears Saudi Arabia could impose economic blockade as it seeks to exert pressure on Hezbollah
Prime minister’s resignation has thrust Lebanon to the centre of an escalating rivalry between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran
Lebanese politicians and bankers believe Saudi Arabia intends to do to their country what it did to Qatar – corral Arab allies into enforcing an economic blockade unless its demands are met.
Unlike Qatar, the world’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas with a population of just 300,000, Lebanon has neither the natural nor financial resources to ride it out, and people there are worried.
Up to 400,000 Lebanese work in the Gulf region, and remittances flowing back into the country, estimated at between US$7-8 billion a year, are a vital source of cash to keep the economy afloat and the heavily indebted government functioning.
“These are serious threats to the Lebanese economy which is already dire. If they cut the transfer of remittances, that will be a disaster,” a senior Lebanese official said.
These are serious threats to the Lebanese economy ... If they cut the transfer of remittances, that will be a disaster
Those threats came from Lebanon’s former prime minister, Saad al-Hariri, who resigned on November 4 in a shock broadcast from Riyadh that Lebanese political leaders have ascribed to pressure from the Saudis.
Hariri, an ally of Saudi Arabia, on Sunday warned of possible Arab sanctions and a danger to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese living in the Gulf.
