Hezbollah hosts conference in Beirut for Saudi opposition

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group has hosted a conference for Saudi opposition figures in its stronghold south of Beirut in a defiant gesture certain to anger the oil-rich kingdom. Wednesday’s gathering came as the Lebanese government is trying to mend relations with Saudi Arabia that hit a new low in October when the kingdom recalled its ambassador from Beirut and banned all Lebanese imports. The conference was attended by Saudi opposition figures as well as members of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. It was meant to commemorate the anniversary of an influential Saudi Shiite cleric who was executed in the kingdom in January 2016.