“Saudi Arabia can not hide its crime of beheading a religious leader by severing political relations with Iran”, Rouhani was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA in a meeting with the Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen in Tehran.
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The United Arab Emirates, home to hundreds of thousands of Iranians, partially downgraded its relations but the other Gulf Arab countries – Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – stayed above the fray. Bahraini officials repeatedly have accused Iran of training militants and attempting to smuggle arms into the country, which hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
“We will attend the next Syria talks and we’re not going to boycott them because of Iran or anybody else for that matter”, said Abdullah al-Moallimi. British Prime Minister David Cameron says the tensions are “hugely concerning”, condemning the execution.
In Yemen, Iran backs the Shia Houthi rebels whereas Saudi Arabia backs the Sunni-led government. Bahrain and Sudan have also severed relations with the predominantly Shiite country.
■ 1987 hajj riots: The annual hajj pilgrimage to Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life, saw bloodshed in 1987 when Iranians held a political demonstration.
“We believe there’s more that can be done by people on all sides to try to bridge those divides in a way that advances the interests of countries all across the region”, the White House spokesman said.
Saudi Arabia also said that it will be halting all air traffic to and from Iran, and would ban its citizens from visiting. “As Turkey, we are ready to make any effort to solve the problems between the two countries”, he said, without specifying what this could entail.
A statement by the 15-member council, which called on Iran to protect diplomatic personnel and property, made no mention of Riyadh’s execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Local observers said Monday they hope there will be no more bloodshed after the execution of a popular cleric in Saudi Arabia flared up hostilities in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia insisted at the United Nations late on Monday, however, that the row would not affect efforts to resolve conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
But the Saudi foreign ministry announced on Sunday it was cutting diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic following the angry protests in Iran.
Mr Al Mouallimi had earlier urged the Security Council to “take all appropriate measures to ensure the inviolability of diplomatic facilities and the protection of all Saudi diplomats in Iran”.
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A scheduled Jan 18 trip by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to Tehran, according to a diplomatic source, has become uncertain following the tiff between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
