Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister and caretaker Minister of Defense, Zeina Akar, has now been appointed as the acting Foreign Minister, replacing FM Charbel Wehbe who resigned this morning.
Wehbe stepped down after coming under fire for his controversial interview on Monday in which he implied that the Arab Gulf countries were responsible for ISIS’s rise and made derogatory comments about Arabs.
His comments, which could have caused a detrimental diplomatic crisis for Lebanon, were denounced by countries across the GCC as well as by influential political officials in Lebanon, and Lebanese residents of Arab Gulf states.
Akar reportedly refused several times before approving to replace Wehbe.