Now talks about the Syrian war, due to be held in Geneva later this month, may be in jeopardy. De Mistura is also expected in Iran later this week and in Damascus on Saturday, according to United Nations sources.
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The U.N. envoys says “we can not afford to lose this momentum” on Syria.
Tensions between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbours reached new heights as Saudi Arabia and Gulf allies cut or downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran in a row over the execution of a Shiite cleric.
The civil aviation department of Bahrain’s Transport Ministry said it would take steps to minimize any inconvenience for travelers who have prior reservations.
Bahraini police used tear gas and birdshot to disperse the protesters, some of whom were throwing gasoline bombs. A number of protesters suffered wounds from the birdshot.
The collapse in relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran after the Saudi execution of a Shi’ite cleric puts an end to speculation that OPEC could somehow agree production curbs to lift the price of oil anytime soon. He became quite prominent during the 2011 Arab Spring movement that saw demonstrations in the Islamic Kingdom’s Shia pockets.
Bahrain is also the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
An outright war between the powers may be unlikely, adds Cafiero, but both Saudi Arabia and Iran may increase their involvement in Syria and Yemen, often seen as a fight between two regional giants.
Al-Arabiya English wrote on its Twitter account Tuesday afternoon: “There was attempt to hack Al Arabiya English & distort our content. Service may be temporarily disrupted but will normally resume shortly”.
Iranian President Rouhani says Saudi Arabia should not respond to criticism of its regime by beheading people. It’s not clear whether al-Nimr was beheaded with a sword, though Saudis routinely use that form of execution.
The execution of Nimr has already raised sectarian tensions in the Middle East between Iran, a country ruled by Shia Ayatollahs, and a few Sunni-majority states.
“It is only natural that a crime against Islamic and human rights will be met with reaction from public opinion”, Rouhani said.
Iran, for its part, expressed “regret” after the attacks on Saudi posts.
Before Rouhani spoke, a government spokesman, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, said cutting diplomatic relations would not hurt Iran or damage its development.
Riyadh executed the cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, last weekend and then cut its diplomatic links with Tehran after demonstrators stormed Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in protest of the killing, smashing furniture at the Tehran embassy and torching it.
In his statement, Sartaj maintained that Pakistan will continue to play its role to ease tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia and it advocates unity among the Muslim countries.
But the rift will not affect the current peace process too much, he says, “because the problem with Syria is not Iran but Russian Federation”. In particular, the Saudi embassy in the capital Tehran and the consulate in the city of Mashhad were attacked, after which Riyadh broke off diplomatic ties with Tehran on January 3. The protest note reiterated the condemnation of Kuwait of the flagrant violations, stressing the need for Iran to respect its worldwide commitments towards accredited diplomatic missions and safeguarding their staff.
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“The Saudi and Iranian governments are mirroring each other”, he explains, “by directing their rhetoric against the other country in order to shore up support for the hardliners at a time when both governments are accused of going soft for different reasons”.
