The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has urged its citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon, becoming the fourth member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to warn against instability in the Mediterranean country.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon from the UAE or any other destination, according to Khaleej Times.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain have already issued similar travel warnings to their respective citizens in the wake of rising tensions between Lebanon and the Saudi kingdom over the past week.
The series of travel advisories comes in the aftermath of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's shock resignation in Riyadh last Saturday.
Earlier this week, Bahrain ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon and cautioned against traveling to the Mediterranean country.
"Due to the current conditions and developments in Lebanon, the foreign ministry asks citizens present in Lebanon to leave immediately and exercise extreme caution," Bahrain's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Similarly, on Thursday, Saudi Arabia asked its citizens to "immediately" leave Lebanon and advised Saudi nationals not to travel to the country.
Hours later, Kuwait and the UAE took a similar stance.
Recent events have led "to speculation of a fresh war in Lebanon which could possibly see Israeli military action against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group there," according to Gulf News.
In a series of events that shook the region, Lebanon's PM Hariri announced his resignation last week, citing fears for his life and accusing Iran-backed Hezbollah of destabilizing Lebanon and the region.
"Over the past decades, Hezbollah has unfortunately managed to impose a fait accompli in Lebanon by the force of its weapons, which it alleges is a resistance weapon," Hariri said in his resignation speech.
Hariri, who is a dual Saudi and Lebanese citizen, said the political climate in Lebanon is similar to when his father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.
Lebanon is 'declaring war' on Saudi Arabia, a Saudi minister said
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and other Gulf nations have taken a strong stance against regional rivals Iran and Hezbollah, an Islamist Lebanese political group that is supported by Tehran.
Saudi leaders also accused Iran and Hezbollah of collaborating with Yemen's Houthi rebels to launch a missile at Riyadh late last week. However, Iran has denied any involvement.
According to Reuters, Saudi Minister of Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan 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.