Lebanon's foreign minister resigns after TV interview
During a televised interview, Charbel Wehbe drew a link between the wealthy Gulf states and the rise of the Islamic State.
Lebanese Defense Minister Zeina Akar was named acting foreign minister on Wednesday after Lebanon‘s former top diplomat resigned over incendiary comments he made about Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region’s role in the rise of the Islamic State.
On Wednesday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun appointed Akar, who also currently serves as deputy prime minister in the country’s caretaker government, Lebanese broadcaster MTV reported.
Her predecessor in the job, Charbel Wehbe, asked to be relieved of his duties “in light of the recent developments and the circumstances that accompanied the interview I gave to a television station.”
“In order for what I said not to be exploited to harm Lebanon and the Lebanese, I met with the president and requested that I be exempted from my duties as foreign minister,” Wehbe told reporters.
