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Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said they would send their ambassadors back to Lebanon, months after recalling them in a dispute fuelled by Iran’s influence in the Mediterranean state.

Saudi Arabia also banned Lebanese imports during the feud, which ostensibly was sparked by a Lebanon government minister’s criticism of its military intervention in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in October last year.

The decision announced in official news agencies came after Lebanon’s prime minister said the country, which is undergoing a financial crisis, would end political and military activities that affected the Gulf countries that have traditionally acted as its major donors.

The criticism of the war in Yemen by information minister George Kordahi, who has since resigned, had come as the last straw for Saudi Arabia, which has lost out in influence in Lebanon to Iran and its local ally Hezbollah, a militant group with political power.

Saudi officials said their country had given Lebanon billions of dollars in aid over past decades only to see the Iranian-backed group grow in power.

The country’s relations with Lebanon deteriorated in 2017 when the then Lebanese prime minister Said al-Hariri announced his resignation from the Saudi capital Riyadh, citing Iranian meddling. Lebanon’s president accused Saudi Arabia of holding the premier hostage and forcing him to give the address.

Lebanon, which has been struggling with its its worst financial crisis amid widespread corruption and political deadlock, tentatively agreed a $3bn IMF loan this week. The loan, which has yet to be ratified by the Lebanese parliament and IMF board, will require Lebanon to reform its banking system and government spending.

The financial crisis has seen Lebanon’s pound losing more than 90 per cent of its value, leading to sky-rocketing prices and an exodus of Lebanese emigrants.