Mitri said the Saudi action was prompted by "specific threats" against the Kingdom. Mitri did not provide any specific details about the nature of the threats nor about the source of the threats.

Mitri did not criticize the Saudi Arabian decision, nor did he try to interpret their decision

Members of the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition launched attacks against Saudi Arabia. Nassir Qandil , a staunch pro -Syrian ally accused Saudi Arabia 2 weeks ago of "conspiring against Lebanon" and supporting an Israeli aggression.

Qandil made the charge in a statement to reporters after meeting vice president of the higher Shiite Islamic Council Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan.

"We believe that an American-Israeli war is behind the door and it would be a continuity of the July (2006) war … unfortunately the same countries that had planned, financed and executed the July aggression stand behind continuity of this war," Qandil said.

In addition Wiam Wahab another member of the pro-Syrian opposition and Qandil last week accused Saudi Arabia , the United States, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Israel of plotting to kill them

A Saudi diplomatic car was hit by gunfire on Friday night in Beirut, but none of the passengers was injured. The supporters of Speaker Nabih Berri celebrated before and after his interview with ANB TV , by firing missiles and rifles. 4 were were injured and many reported property damage.

Kuwait and Bahrain have also issued travel advisories but did not follow Saudi Arabia in urging their citizens to leave immediately.

Restriction of travel by the Arabian Gulf countries will be a blow to the Lebanese economy , which has been suffering since the 2006 summer war .

Lebanon is one of the most heavily indebted nations on per capita basis and depends greatly on the tourism industry .

Foreign Ministers of the GCC countries met Saturday in Riyadh to discuss the Damascus summit and the Lebanese political crises. The king of Saudi Arabia has warned Damascus that he may miss the summit if Syria does not cooperate over the Lebanese presidential elections .

The GCC countries issued a warning after the meeting in which they insisted that the Lebanese election should take place on March 11 as scheduled. Many expect the summit could be canceled , if Syria does not cooperate in Lebanon.

Speaker Nabih Berri threatened during his interview to take new measures if the Damascus summit is canceled. This was interpreted by analysts as more riots , violence and tire burning by the opposition.

USS Cole

Regarding the decision by the United states to deploy USS Cole off the Lebanese coast he said "Lebanon was not consulted in advance regarding the decision to deploy warships in the eastern Mediterranean ".

The USS Cole is anchored in the International waters , over 60 miles off the Lebanese coast . Lebanon's territorial water extends to 12 miles from the coast

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