Bahrain orders citizens to ‘immediately leave’ Lebanon

Bahrain has ordered all its citizens in Lebanon to “leave immediately” in the wake of Saad Hariri’s abrupt resignation as the Lebanese prime minister, which was announced from Saudi Arabia.

In a statement issued on Sunday afternoon, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said, “Due to the current conditions and developments in Lebanon, the foreign ministry asks citizens present in Lebanon to leave immediately and exercise extreme caution.”

The ministry also urged its citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon “for their own safety and to avoid any dangers they might encounter.” Manama gave no further details on the nature of any threat.

Bahrain is a bellwether state in the Saudi Arabia-dominated Persian Gulf Cooperation Council to announce sanctions and travel bans, usually targeting countries seen as unfriendly to the Riyadh regime.

Hariri, a long-time Saudi ally, quit his post on Saturday in a televised speech from Saudi Arabia. He claimed that he feared the same fate as his assassinated father, Rafiq, and accused Iran and the Hezbollah resistance movement of meddling in the internal affairs of Arab countries.

PressTV-Lebanese PM Hariri resigns after trips to Saudi Arabia

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has announced his resignation in a speech broadcast from Saudi Arabia.

Hariri’s departure sent shock waves through Lebanon as the country is struggling to maintain stability at a time when much of the Middle East is gripped by Takfiri violence rooted in Saudi Arabia.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri decided to cut short his visit to Egypt and to return to Lebanon following Hariri’s resignation.

In a Twitter posting, Minister of Justice Salim Jreissati said Hariri’s resignation was “suspicious in its timing, place, mean and content.”