KSA, UAE Summon Lebanese Ambassadors to Protest Wehbe's Remarks

The Saudi Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said it summoned Lebanon’s ambassador to the kingdom and handed him a letter of protest over “insulting” remarks by caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe.

In a statement, the Saudi ministry accused Wehbe of “insulting the kingdom and its people.”

“The Foreign Ministry strongly condemns those statements, which included obscene insults against the kingdom and its people and the brotherly nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council,” the statement said, adding that what Wehbe said “contradicts with the simplest diplomatic norms and does not befit the historic ties between the two brotherly peoples.”

Later on Tuesday, the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed its "strong condemnation" of Wehbe's remarks, adding that it has summoned the Lebanese ambassador and handed him an official letter of protest.

Wehbe had earlier in the day apologized over his remarks, saying he did not mean to insult any Arab country or people.

In an interview on al-Hurra TV, Wehbe had accused “brotherly and friendly countries” of having supported the jihadist Islamic State group in its attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Wehbe also criticized Saudi Arabia for “killing (Saudi dissident Jamal) Khashoggi in Istanbul” while defending Hizbullah’s arms.