KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait

Kuwait on Saturday recalled its ambassador to Lebanon, and asked the Lebanese envoy to leave the country within 48 hours, the state news agency KUNA reported.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to expel the charge d'affaires of the Lebanese embassy within 48 hours from the country and to recall its ambassador to Lebanon," KUNA said.

While the statement did not mention the reason behind the decision, the move comes following a similar decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain over comments critical of the Saudi military role in Yemen by Lebanon’s Information Minister George Kordahi in a televised interview said to be recorded before he took his post in the new Cabinet headed by Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Asked if he "thinks that the Houthis, like Hezbollah, are defending their land as an armed organization," Kordahi responded: "Of course they are defending themselves ... My personal opinion is that this war in Yemen needs to end. Houses, buildings, villages, and cities are being attacked by fighter jets."

Lebanon is already facing deteriorating economic conditions and an acute shortage of energy.

In an attempt to avert a crisis, Mikati said Kordahi made the comment before taking his post and it does not reflect the government's position. He added that the remarks in no way demonstrate Lebanon's policy with Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

In a statement on Saturday, former Lebanese prime ministers, Fouad Siniora, Saad Hariri, and Tammam Salam, called for Kordahi’s resignation.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation and caused one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar