Saudi Arabia invites Lebanese president to visit the kingdom

In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, left, meets with Saudi Arabia's Prince Khaled al-Faisal, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. al-Faisal said, he handed an invitation to the newly elected Lebanese president to visit the oil-rich kingdom. (Dalati Nohra via AP) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – Saudi Arabia has invited the newly elected Lebanese president to visit the oil-rich kingdom.

Saudi Prince Khaled al-Faisal told reporters Monday after meeting President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace near Beirut that the president has accepted the invitation and agreed to visit after a new Cabinet is formed in Lebanon.

Aoun was elected last month after a 29-month vacuum in the country's top post. Lebanon's political factions are deeply divided, with some, like Aoun's Christian party and the Hezbollah militant group, aligning with Iran and their opponents siding with Saudi Arabia.

In February, Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion arms deal with Lebanon, a decision linked to the kingdom's tensions with Iran. Iran and Hezbollah support Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Saudi Arabia backs the rebels trying to topple him.