Lebanese acting FM steps down over remarks on Gulf Arabs, IS

Lebanon’s acting foreign minister has stepped down after he suggested in a TV interview this week that Gulf Arab countries had provided backing to extremists, helping the rise of the Islamic State group

BEIRUT -- Lebanon’s acting foreign minister stepped down on Wednesday amid a diplomatic row with Gulf Arab countries after he suggested in a TV interview this week that they had provided backing to extremists, helping the rise of the Islamic State group. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait summoned Lebanese ambassadors in their capitals to protest Charbel Wehbe's remarks during an interview with Alhurra news channel. They accuse Wehbe of violating diplomatic norms and making derogatory and racist statements. In the interview late Monday, Wehbe said that “friendship and brotherhood countries” brought Islamic State militants to Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. When asked if he meant that Gulf countries financed IS, he retorted sharply: “Financed by me then?” When a Saudi commentator interviewed along with Wehbe criticized Lebanon’s president, the minister became agitated, saying that as a Lebanese, he couldn’t accept being insulted by a “Bedouin” — a term he used derogatorily to describe Gulf Arab nationals. He walked out of the studio but returned to finish the interview.