Shaken by Yemen, Lebanon works to keep its balance
(The Christian Science Monitor) Reverberations from a Saudi-led armed intervention in Yemen have reached Lebanon, where another potential proxy battle looms between Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran.
“They are killing Shi‘ites in Yemen,” said Hassan Masri, a Shi‘ite supporter of Hezbollah in southern Beirut. “The Arab Sunni countries have declared war on the Shi‘ites.”
The latest crisis in Yemen illustrates the interconnected nature of the conflicts tearing apart the Middle East, as Saudi Arabia and Iran seek influence at each other’s expense. In Lebanon, the two leading parties—the Shi‘ite Hezbollah and the Sunni Future Movement—are backed by these regional rivals.
