Lebanon is 'declaring war' on Saudi Arabia, Saudi minister says

According to Reuters, a Saudi minister said on Monday that Riyadh will treat the government of Lebanon as if it has declared war on the kingdom.

"We will treat the government of Lebanon as a government declaring war on Saudi Arabia due to the aggression of Hezbollah," Saudi Minister of Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan said, according to Al Arabiya.

“We expect the Lebanese government to act to deter Hezbollah,” Sabhan said, referring to Hezbollah as "the party of Satan" and accusing the organization of committing terrorist acts.

Sabhan's comments come on the heels of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's shock resignation in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. 

Voicing similar sentiments to that of Sabhan, Hariri accused Hezbollah of destabilizing Lebanon and the region. Hariri, who is a dual Saudi and Lebanese citizen, also voiced fears for his life, saying the political climate in Lebanon is similar to when his father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah responded to Hariri's comments claiming Riyadh had "imposed" the decision on the prime minister.

"It is clear that the resignation was a Saudi decision that was imposed on Prime Minister Hariri. It was not his intention, not his wish, and not his decision," Nasrallah claimed, according to Voice of America.

Last year, Hariri brought together a unity cabinet that included Hezbollah ministers.

Hours after Hariri's resignation, Saudi Arabia's air defense forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile northeast of the capital Riyadh. The missile, which was launched from Yemen, did not cause any major damage and was destroyed near Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.

Yemen's Houthi militia quickly claimed responsibility for the missile. 

"The capital cities of countries that continually shell us, targeting innocent civilians, will not be spared from our missiles," a spokesman for the group told Al Jazeera.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have been fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen since 2015.

Riyadh, however, linked the attack to Hezbollah and Iran, saying the Lebanese group was behind the missile launch.

"It was an Iranian missile, launched by Hezbollah, from territory occupied by the Houthis in Yemen," Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir told CNN.

Iran has denied the accusation.

Sabhan further addressed Lebanon, saying that "Lebanese must all know these risks and work to fix matters before they reach the point of no return," according to Reuters.

The minister also said that "there are those who will stop (Hezbollah) and make it return to the caves of South Lebanon." He stopped short, however, of discussing any specific actions Riyadh may be considering against Lebanon in the future.

Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist organization and political party with its own militia. Within Lebanon, the party is seen by many as a deterrent against Israeli aggression. 

At the same time, the group is heavily criticized and hated by many in Lebanese society, particularly for its hardline Islamist stance and its unwillingness to demilitarize.