As fears continue over the outbreak of World War 3 amid rising tensions between North Korea and the United States, Saudi Gulf affairs minister Thamer al-Sabhan said the Iran-backed Lebanese group had attacked his country.
In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, he said the Lebanese administration would now be “dealt with as a government declaring war on Saudi Arabia”.
He claimed Hezbollah’s actions “were considered acts of a declaration of war against Saudi Arabia by Lebanon and by the Lebanese Party of the Devil”.
Al-Sabhan said the message had also been delivered to Lebanese prime minister Saas al-Hariri, a Saudi ally.
Al-Hariri resigned at the weekend saying he feared an assassination plot against him, accusing Iran and Hezbollah of breeding strife in the Arab world.
After the shock exit, al-Sabhan tweeted: “Lebanon, after the resignation, will never be the same as before.
“It will not accept to be in any case a platform for launching terrorism to our countries.”
Earlier today, President Michel Aoun appealed for national unity following the resignation, which toppled a coalition government including Hezbollah and plunged Lebanon into political crisis.
And the latest developments came amid rising tensions in the region after a missile was fired towards Riyadh by Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia is temporarily closing all air, land and sea ports to Yemen as it tries to stop arms flowing to the rebels from Iran.
On Sunday the Saudis accused the Houthis of “dangerous escalation” based on Iranian support after air defences intercepted the ballistic missile.
It was brought down near Riyadh airport without causing any casualties.
Iran rejected the accusation today as “destructive and provocative”.