Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Mar 07, 2026

Beirut blast demonstrators get past riot police and tear gas, smash front of minister’s home

Beirut blast demonstrators get past riot police and tear gas, smash front of minister’s home

After being beaten and tear gassed by riot police, a mob of protesters in Beirut has smashed the entrance to the home of Lebanon’s interior minister, who they say is protecting those responsible for last year’s port explosion.

Protesters marched to the house of Mohammed Fahmi earlier on Tuesday, demanding that the caretaker interior minister lift the immunity granted to government officials over last year’s devastating port explosion. Clashes soon broke out, and police and security officers beat back the demonstrators.

The crowd grew in size, however, and the protesters managed to reach the front of Fahmi’s building. As the police and security officers threw tear gas, the mob smashed the front windows of the building. It is unclear whether Fahmi was inside his home at the time.




More protesters gathered out on the street, enveloped by clouds of tear gas.


Darkness fell over the Lebanese capital and police sirens echoed through the street, but a group of demonstrators – some of whom lost family in the port blast – remained outside Fahmi’s house.



Tuesday’s march to the minister’s residence was not the first time demonstrators have demanded accountability from Lebanon’s government over last year’s explosion, which killed more than 200 people, injured over 6,000 and destroyed huge swathes of the Lebanese capital. Earlier this month, family members of blast victims protested outside the Interior Ministry after Fahmi denied a request by investigators to interview former General Security Agency head Major General Abbas Ibrahim.

Ibrahim is one of several current and former officials suspected to have had some knowledge about the improper storage of highly explosive ammonium nitrate at the port. A number of ministers also accused of negligence remain shielded by parliamentary immunity.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Justice Department Pursues Criminal Cases Against Cuban Officials in New Legal Push
Abrupt Cancellation of U.S. Army Exercise Sparks Speculation Over Possible Middle East Deployment
Saudi Arabia Led OPEC Output Surge Ahead of Iran Strikes, Survey Finds
Cristiano Ronaldo Travels to Spain for Hamstring Treatment After Injury in Saudi Pro League Match
Saudi Aramco Reroutes Oil to Red Sea as Strait of Hormuz Disruptions Hit Gulf Exports
Saudi Arabia Presses Ahead With Economic Diversification Despite Fiscal and External Deficits
Middle East Conflict Puts Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Races at Risk
Iran Targets Israeli Diplomatic Site in Bahrain and US Air Base in Qatar as Regional Conflict Expands
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Three Ballistic Missiles Targeting Prince Sultan Air Base
Iran Launches Fresh Missile and Drone Attacks Across Middle East as Regional War Intensifies
Saudi Arabia Opens Direct Communication Channel With Iran in Bid to Prevent Wider Regional War
Saudi Arabia Maintains Strong Fiscal Position Despite Global Uncertainty, Finance Ministry Says
Saudi Arabia Considers Response After Iranian Drone Strike Hits Major Northern Oil Refinery
Saudi Carrier Flynas Plans Limited Flight Resumption to Dubai Amid Regional Tensions
Saudi Arabia and UAE Pledge Close Coordination to Secure Oil Supplies for Japan
Middle East Conflict Casts Doubt Over Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Races
Iran Rejects Claims of Attacks on Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and Oman
Saudi Arabia Condemns Iranian Strikes Targeting Türkiye and Azerbaijan
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Matches Despite Escalating Regional Conflict
U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Issues Emergency Security Alert After Drone Strike and Escalating Regional Threats
Saudi Arabia Scrambles to Redirect Oil Exports as Gulf Storage Nears Capacity
Iran Expresses Gratitude to Saudi Arabia for Closing Airspace During Escalating Conflict
Saudi Arabia Fears Iranian Strikes Could Target Senior Leaders as Regional War Escalates
Iran Says Its Strikes Target Only U.S. Military Assets and Denies Attacking Saudi Arabia
Drone Strike Hits U.S. Embassy in Riyadh as Middle East Conflict Escalates
Tom Brady’s Saudi Flag Football Event May Shift to U.S. as Middle East Conflict Disrupts Plans
Iran War Strikes Saudi Arabia at a Critical Moment for Its Economic Transformation
Saudi Cabinet Declares Kingdom Will Take All Necessary Measures to Defend National Security
United States Urges Citizens to Leave Fourteen Middle Eastern Countries as Iran War Escalates
Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura Refinery Targeted Again in Second Drone Attack Within Two Days
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Fixtures Despite Rising Middle East Conflict
Trump Pursues Major Civil Nuclear Agreement With Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Turmoil
Mass Drone Attacks Strike Gulf States as Iran Conflict Spreads Across Region
No Verified Confirmation of Ronaldo Departure Linked to Iran Conflict or AFC Suspension
No Verified Evidence of Israeli Intelligence Arrests in Qatar or Saudi Arabia
Drone Attack Forces Temporary Shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s Largest Oil Refinery
Israel Intensifies Air Campaign in Tehran as Iran Expands Regional Retaliation
Iranian Strikes Escalate Middle East Conflict, Drawing Saudi Arabia Closer to Wider War
No Verified Confirmation of Drone Strike on King Fahd Causeway Amid Regional Tensions
No Verified Evidence Saudi Crown Prince Is Seeking to Weaken Israel Amid Regional Tensions
Reports Emerge of Drone Strike Near US Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Americans Told to Shelter
Saudi Arabia Weighs Strategic Options as Tensions With Iran Intensify
Iran Expands Strikes on Saudi and Qatari Infrastructure, Opening a New Front in Gulf Conflict
Western Navies Sound Alarm as Russian Shadow Tankers Transit NATO Waters in Defiance of Sanctions
U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Struck by Drones Amid Escalating Iran Conflict
Imola Emerges as Standby Venue if Bahrain or Saudi Arabia Grands Prix Are Cancelled
Uncertainty Clouds $24 Billion Gulf Investment Linked to Paramount–WBD Deal
Middle East Strikes Disrupt Qatar LNG, Saudi Refining and Israeli Energy Fields
Gulf States Signal Possible Collective Action Over Iran’s Escalating Strikes
Saudi Arabia Summons Iranian Ambassador After Cross-Border Attacks
×