While the recent Saudi-Iran deal, mediated by China, gave
the Middle East some hope, it placed uncertainty on Lebanon, where a
months-long presidential vacuum has aggravated the country's institutional
stagnation and a long-standing economic catastrophe.
Lebanon, a small Mediterranean nation whose governing
elite has historically been associated with foreign powers to maintain
influence and economic stability, has suffered as a result of the rivalry
between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The Lebanese pound lost more than 90% of its value in 2019
due to an economic catastrophe, and the ruling class—which has been widely held
responsible for the financial collapse—failed to stop the currency's
precipitous decline.
Since last year, the nation has only had a caretaker administration
and no president.
The deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is expected
to result in the full restoration of diplomatic ties between the two nations
after a seven-year break, has the power to alter the regional order.
After the Arab League was suspended due to President
Bashar al-Assad's ruthless suppression of pro-democracy uprisings more than ten
years ago, Saudi Arabia has already campaigned for Syria, an ally of Iran, to
be reinstated.
In Yemen, the agreement looked to have facilitated the
release of a large number of Houthi prisoners held in Saudi Arabia and
supported by Iran, opening the door to the possibility of peace in the troubled
nation.
However, the Saudi-Iran agreement appears to be even more
dormant in light of the impasse over the presidency between Lebanon's warring
parliamentary blocs.
Nasser Yassin, the environment minister in Lebanon, told
Al Jazeera that "unlike in Yemen, the Saudi-Iran deal will not reflect on
Lebanon's political reality in the near future, except in terms of preventing
further escalation among local allies."
Since previous President Michel Aoun's term ended at the
end of October, Lebanon has been without a head of state, a position that by
tradition must be held by a Maronite Christian.
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