THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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A brewing battle

A brewing battle

The resignation of PM Hariri raises fears of a fresh round of conflicts in Lebanon as Saudi Arabia and Iran jostle for control 

As major powers in the Middle East brace themselves for some serious confrontation, Lebanon is finding itself caught in the conflict.
Proxy wars were fought in Lebanon throughout the 1980s, which cost countless lives as just about every major power in the Middle East then was backing one armed group or other.
This time around, Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran are flexing their muscles and the battleground could very well be Lebanon, again.
Tension in the country reached dangerous levels after Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation last week from 
his post during an expected 
visit to Saudi Arabia, his main backer.
Many observers of the region believe Hariri was pushed into the decision by Riyadh. No one knows if and when he will return to Lebanon. He blamed Iran for interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs and demanded that Hezbollah lay down its weapons.
Iran-backed Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah, in many ways, is a state within a state, with politicians in government and the Parliament.
Moreover, its armed wing is stronger than the Lebanese national army.
Stepping up the pressure even more, Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Gulf have told their citizens to leave Lebanon, sending an ominous signal for the future.
Over the past three years, Saudi Arabia and Iran have engaged in a proxy war in Yemen, where Riyadh accused Tehran of equipping Shi’ite rebels with weapons, including the missiles that were recently fired into the country.
The move on Lebanon comes at a time when the conflict in Syria has reached a new phase with the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) falling apart and possibly reduced to an underground insurgency. The two powers – Saudi Arabia and Iran – it seems, want to have the upper hand in a post-IS era and Lebanon has become that battleground for the two to test their political strength and military might.
Given the regional aspect of the problem, no one can expect the solution to come from within Lebanon.
Western countries, particularly the United States, love to accuse Iran of interfering with other countries and point to Hezbollah as one of its deliverables.
While Iran is no angel, neither is Saudi Arabia, with its determination to dominate the region diplomatically and monopolise the discourse on Islam through its conservative doctrine that is known as Wahhabism.
Lebanon is no stranger to outsider interference. But there is grave concern that a misstep this time around could result in a full-blown war between major powers in the Middle East. The fight against a non-state actor like IS is one thing. But an all-out war between Iran and Saudi Arabia would be detrimental to the entire world. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia be prevented at all costs, as it could impact the entire global community.
The world has to get away from this notion of a “justified” war, a label that is often used by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in their fight against the Houthi insurgents in Yemen.
Indeed, one doesn’t have to look too deep to see that the relentless bombings targeting the Houthi rebels have resulted in the deaths of countless innocent civilians in the war zone. More than 10,000 have died in Yemen since 2014 when the war erupted.
In other words, there are no good guys in this conflict; this is not a conflict between good and evil. It is just a power struggle between major powers in the region. Sadly, the human tragedy has done little to influence 
public opinion in the global 
community.

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