Foreign ministers of Arab League countries held an emergency meeting in Cairo

The foreign ministers of Arab League countries will hold an emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday to discuss ways to combat Iranian interference in the affairs of Arab countries, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

The meeting, which will be chaired by Djibouti foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, was requested by Saudi Arabia with the support of the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.

It comes two weeks after Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri resigned from Riyadh, criticising Iran’s influence in his country. Saudi Arabia has also accused Iran of providing Yemen’s Houthi rebels with missiles that have been used in attacks against the kingdom.

A senior Lebanese official said Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil might be absent from the meeting, which would be held in Cairo, and whether his participation would be decided definitively on Sunday morning.

A spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that Iraq will participate in the emergency meeting, denying the reported that Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, decided to boycott the meeting, which is expected to issue a statement denouncing Iran’s policies in the region.

The official Saudi news agency said that the meeting was to discuss “ways to address Iranian interference in the Arab countries and undermine Arab security and peace, and take the necessary action.”

The UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait supported Saudi Arabia’s request for the meeting, the agency said.

More recently, regional tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have increased, predicting a boiling point, with Lebanon in conflict.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri abruptly announced his resignation on November 4.

The declaration did not come from Lebanon, but from Saudi Arabia, the political backer of Hariri. Many Lebanese believe that Riyadh pushed him to take this decision.

But Saudi Arabia denied Hariri was forced to resign in an attempt to curb Iran’s influence and behind it the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is part of a unity government formed by Hariri last year.

Hariri traveled on Saturday from Saudi Arabia to France, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macaron. After the meeting, Hariri said he would return to Beirut in a few days and then make clear his sudden decision on the resignation.

The absence of the Lebanese prime minister is seen as part of the larger regional conflict between Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite-led Iran.