EXPLAINER: Why frustrated Saudi is lashing out at Lebanon

A televised remark by a game show host-turned Cabinet minister in Lebanon about the war in Yemen has taken Lebanon's crisis with Saudi Arabia to new depths

BEIRUT -- A televised remark by a game show host turned Cabinet minister in Lebanon about the war in Yemen has taken the country’s crisis with Saudi Arabia to new depths.

Anger over George Kordahi’s comments led to steps by Gulf Arab countries that further isolate Lebanon and threaten to split its new coalition government, tasked with halting the country’s economic meltdown.

Punitive measures from Saudi Arabia, once an important ally that poured millions of dollars into Lebanon, could cause more economic pain. The kingdom has banned all Lebanese imports, a major blow to a country whose main trading partners are in the Persian Gulf.

It is the latest escalation in the rivalry that has long played out in Lebanon between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Tensions have dragged on for years over the dominant role in Lebanon of the Iranian-backed militant Hezbollah group.