Analysis: Lebanon fears Qatar-like blockade from Saudi could damage economy

Lebanese politicians and bankers believe Saudi Arabia intends to do to their country what it did to Qatar - corral Arab allies into enforcing an economic blockade unless its demands are met.

Unlike Qatar, the world's biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas with a population of just 300,000, Lebanon has neither the natural nor financial resources to ride it out, and people there are worried.

Up to 400,000 Lebanese work in the Gulf region, and remittances flowing back into the country, estimated at between $7-8 billion a year, are a vital source of cash to keep the economy afloat and the heavily-indebted government functioning.

"These are serious threats to the Lebanese economy which is already dire. If they cut the transfer of remittances, that will be a disaster," a senior Lebanese official told Reuters.

Those threats came from Lebanon's former prime minister, Saad al-Hariri, who resigned on November 4 in a shock broadcast from Riyadh that Lebanese political leaders have ascribed to pressure from the Saudis.
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Saudi purge jolts markets; critics see power grab, many say it was overdue

All major Gulf stock markets slid on Tuesday on jitters about Saudi Arabia's sweeping anti-graft purge, a campaign seen by critics as a populist power grab but by ordinary Saudis as an overdue attack on the sleaze of a moneyed ultra-elite.

US President Donald Trump endorsed the crackdown, saying some of those arrested have been "milking" Saudi Arabia for years, but some Western officials expressed unease about the possible reaction in Riyadh's opaque tribal and royal politics.

Authorities detained dozens of top Saudis including billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in a move widely seen as an attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to neuter any opposition to his lightening ascent to the pinnacle of power.

Admirers see it as an assault on the endemic theft of public funds in the world's top oil exporter, an absolute monarchy where the state and the ruling family are intertwined.

"Corruption should have been fought a long time ago because it's corruption that delays society's development," Riyadh resident Hussein al-Dosari told Reuters.

"God willing, everything that happened ... is only the beginning of what is planned," said Faisal bin Ali, adding he wanted to see "correcting mistakes, correcting ministries and correcting any injustices against the general population."
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