Saudi-Iranian thaw could 'augur well for Lebanon, spell disaster for Israel'

Lebanon would likely benefit from an end to Saudi-Iranian rivalry, and should the rapprochement solidify it could spell disaster for Israel, The Guardian newspaper said.

"Saudi and Iranian-backed factions have not been able to agree on a replacement (to former president Michel Aoun) despite successive round of voting," the British daily said, as Saudi Arabia refuses to back Hezbollah and Amal's candidate Suleiman Franjieh.

The daily added that for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, all this potentially spells disaster. "He thought the Abraham accords engineered by the Trump administration would normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, but instead Riyadh is normalizing relations with Israel’s enemies – Iran, Syria and even Hamas," The Guardian said.