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Qatar to Support Lebanon after Formation of New Government, Qatari PM Says

A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
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Qatar to Support Lebanon after Formation of New Government, Qatari PM Says

A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with Qatat’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the presidential palace of Baabda east of Beirut on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

Qatar's prime minister said on Tuesday that his country would support Lebanese institutions and work on mutual projects after the formation of a Lebanese government.

Qatar has been providing the Lebanese army with grants for fuel and salaries. Lebanon needs foreign funds to help meet a huge reconstruction bill from last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, in which Israeli air strikes flattened swathes of the country.

In a press conference in Beirut following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar would continue supporting the Lebanese army.

"We are looking forward to the formation of the government and after that will look at a strategic partnership based on mutual interest," Al Thani said.

"The indicators since the beginning of the year have been positive, whether it is filling the (Lebanese) presidential vacuum or the change that happened in Syria."

Aoun on told Sheikh Mohammed that he hopes TotalEnergies will soon resume oil and gas exploration off the coast of Lebanon, according to a statement from the president's office.

In 2023 QatarEnergy joined France's TotalEnergies and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) in a three-way consortium to look for oil and gas in two maritime blocks off the coast of Lebanon.

As well as meeting Aoun, who was elected president in early January, Al Thani met caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Prime Minister-elect Nawaf Salam and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Salam, a judge who had been serving as the head of the International Court of Justice, was nominated on Jan. 13 to form Lebanon's new cabinet.

The US has pressured Lebanese officials including Salam not to allow Hezbollah or its ally Amal - headed by Berri - to nominate Lebanon's next finance minister.

Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and triggered the Gaza war.

Israel said its offensive against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis who were forced to leave homes at the border by Hezbollah rocket fire. Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in November.

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Gulf

Saudi Defense Minister: Time for STC to Withdraw from Yemen's Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Defense Minister: Time for STC to Withdraw from Yemen's Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Saturday it “was time for the Southern Transitional Council in Yemen to listen to reason and prioritize public interest and unity of ranks and respond to the Saudi-Emirati mediation to end the escalation.”

In a post on the X platform, he called on the STC to withdraw its forces from the eastern Hadhramaut and al-Mahra provinces and restore control to the National Shield and local authorities.

Prince Khalid said Saudi Arabia formed the Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen to help the country reclaim control over all of its territories.

The liberation of southern provinces was a pivotal development towards that goal, he stressed.

Saudi Arabia “views the southern issue as fundamental” to Yemen and it will not “exploit it in conflicts that do not serve” the nation, he added.

The Kingdom had brought together all Yemeni components to the Riyadh conference to come up with a clear path for a comprehensive political solution, including the southern issue, he went on to say.

The conference paved the way for a “just solution to their cause through dialogue and without the use of forces.”

“Saudi Arabia approved the decision to move the base of power so that the southerners could have a greater role in state institutions. It consolidated partnership instead of elimination or imposing a status quo through forces. Saudi Arabia also presented Yemen with economic support, as well as development and humanitarian initiatives that helped ease the suffering of the people,” Prince Khalid added.

“Saudi Arabia and its partners in the coalition offered sacrifices with their Yemeni brothers in liberating Aden and other provinces,” he noted. “The Kingdom has always sought that these sacrifices be made in the name of reclaiming territories and restoring the state, not as a path towards new conflicts.”

It had hoped that these sacrifices would have been “invested in the security of all Yemeni people, not exploited for petty gains, whereby the unfortunate developments in Hadhramaut and al-Mahra since the beginning of December 2025 have led to the division in ranks that should be united against the enemy.”

“The developments have laid waste to the sacrifices of our sons and Yemeni people and have harmed the just southern issue,” stressed Prince Khalid.

He noted that several southern leaderships and figures have exhibited “awareness and wisdom in supporting efforts to end the escalation in Hadhramaut and al-Mahra and prevent the secure southern provinces from being dragged into futile conflicts.”

“They are aware of the major challenges facing Yemen and will not allow saboteurs to achieve their goals in the country and the region,” he remarked.

He declared that the “southern issue will remain part of any comprehensive political solution. The cause will not be neglected or marginalized. It should be resolved through consensus, adhering to commitments and building trust between all Yemeni segments, not through adventures that only serve everyone's enemy.”

Gulf

Arab Coalition: We Will Deal with Military Moves that Violate De-escalation Efforts

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (SPA)
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (SPA)
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Arab Coalition: We Will Deal with Military Moves that Violate De-escalation Efforts

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (SPA)
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki. (SPA)

Spokesman of the Arab coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen Brigadier General Turki al-Malki said on Saturday that “any military moves that violate de-escalation efforts will be dealt with directly to protect lives and ensure the success of Saudi and Emirati efforts.”

The statement is in response to a request by Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi, who called for immediate steps to protect civilians in the eastern Hadhramaut and al-Mahra provinces in wake of the “grave and horrific” violations by members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

It is also in continuation of the strenuous joint efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to de-escalate the situation and ensure the withdrawal of STC forces, who have been demanded to cede control to the National Shield forces and allow the local authorities to carry out their duties.

Malki underlined the Arab coalition’s continued firm support for the legitimate Yemeni government.

He also urged all sides to assume their national responsibility, exercise restraint and comply with efforts to reach peaceful solutions that preserve security and stability.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia Carries out Warning Strike on Yemen’s Hadhramaut, STC Says ‘Open to Coordination’

Southern forces patrol during a rally calling for South Yemen's independence, in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, 25 December 2025. (EPA)
Southern forces patrol during a rally calling for South Yemen's independence, in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, 25 December 2025. (EPA)
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Saudi Arabia Carries out Warning Strike on Yemen’s Hadhramaut, STC Says ‘Open to Coordination’

Southern forces patrol during a rally calling for South Yemen's independence, in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, 25 December 2025. (EPA)
Southern forces patrol during a rally calling for South Yemen's independence, in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, 25 December 2025. (EPA)

Saudi Arabia called for calm in eastern Yemen, urging an end to unilateral military moves and for the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces to return to their former positions outside of the Hadhramaut and al-Mahra provinces.

Riyadh, meanwhile, demonstrated its stance on the ground by carrying out a warning air strike, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The strike sought to deliver a message that it will not allow a new status quo to be imposed on the ground by force and that it will not allow the violation of institutional frameworks that handle security in the eastern provinces.

It warned that any further escalation will be met with firmer measures.

Meanwhile, the STC, in an attempt to justify its military moves, said they were in “response to calls from residents of the south” and an attempt to confront terrorist threats and block Houthi smuggling routes.

The STC added that it was “open to any coordination or arrangements with Saudi Arabia”, questioning the airstrike, which it said “does not serve understandings.”

Observers told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia will welcome the coordination and arrangements if they helped end the escalation, led to the withdrawal of the STC and allowed the National Shield forces and the local authority to take over Hadhramaut and al-Mahra without needing to resort to force.

They stressed that the strike will lead to delivering the clear message that Riyadh may impose red lines by force to prevent any escalation.

Sourced told Asharq Al-Awsat that any future settlement over restoring the unity of Yemeni ranks will condition a return to the former status quo.