Lebanon expels Iran's Envoy, Saudi Arabia fires 5 Iranian diplomats

The Lebanon government on Tuesday ordered Iran’s ambassador to leave the country. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said Tehran’s diplomatic representative Mohammad Reza Sheibani in the war-torn country has to leave by Sunday, March 29, declaring him persona non grata – a formal designation used to expel a foreign diplomat. A spokesperson for Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry, Denise Rahme, clarified that Iran’s embassy in Beirut will remain operational under a chargé d’affaires, who will temporarily head the mission. 
The move comes amid growing tensions between the two countries. The Lebanese government has criticized Iran, accusing its elite Revolutionary Guard of operating within Lebanon alongside the Hezbollah militant group and contributing to escalating conflict with Israel.Lebanon also recalled its ambassador to Iran for consultations, citing what it described as a breach of diplomatic norms by Tehran. 
Meanwhile, Israel has said that some of its strikes have targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials operating in the country. Troops of the Golani Brigade killed eight Hezbollah operatives during a raid last week in southern Lebanon, the military says.The military does not report any injuries in the incident.
Saudi Arabia has declared five Iranian diplomats persona non grata, saying they must leave the kingdom in the next 24 hours. The diplomats are the Iranian Embassy’s military attache, the assistant military attache, and three other staff members, according to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. The Saudi government pointed to Iran’s “continued attacks” as the reason, which they said will lead to “further escalation” and have “serious consequences” for Saudi-Iranian relations. Saudi Arabia is now the second Gulf country to remove some of Iran’s diplomats in the past week.
On Wednesday, Qatar removed the Iranian Embassy’s military attache, security attache, and two other staffers from the country. That decision came shortly after Iran launched an attack on Qatari liquified natural gas facilities, in what was a serious escalation in the war. The attack was prompted by an Israeli strike on the South Pars gas field, which is shared by Iran and Qatar.