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UN chief sounds alarm about ‘devastating consequences’ of Saudi-Lebanon conflict

Friday, 10 November 2017 5:20 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 10 November 2017 7:09 PM ]

The file photo shows UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaking as the Security Council holds a meeting in New York. (AFP)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has voiced serious concern about escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, warning of "devastating consequences" if a war breaks out between the two countries.

"We are indeed very worried, and we hope we won’t see an escalation," the UN chief told reporters in New York. "It is essential that no new conflict erupts in the region, it could have devastating consequences."

"This is a matter of great concern to us. What we want is for peace to be preserved in Lebanon," Guterres said.

His comments come amid rising tension between the regime in Riyadh and the Lebanese government over the past few days. Guterres said he had "very intense" contacts with officials in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and other countries in the region, insisting it was necessary to avoid any fresh tensions in the conflict-hit Middle East.

In related news, the secretary general of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Friday that Saudi rulers had clearly and openly declared war against Lebanon by holding the country’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri hostage in Riyadh.

PressTV-‘Saudi in open war on Lebanon with Hariri arrest’

The Hezbollah chief says Saudi Arabia has openly declared a war on Lebanon by keeping Prime Minister Saad Hariri under house arrest.

According to many political experts and diplomats, Saudi Arabia, which had earlier accused Beirut of declaring war against Riyadh, has been engaged in “provocative” and "aggressive" behavior against countries such as Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Qatar and Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday that the Saudi kingdom was “engaged in wars of aggression, regional bullying, destabilizing behavior & risky provocations” of its regional neighbors.

Iran's top diplomat particularly held the Saudi-led military coalition engaged in a campaign against Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people in the poorest Arab country.

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