Iran banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia, Iranian state TV reported Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
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The neighborhood in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, has been struck before as it is home to several strategic sites.
Iran on Thursday accused the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen of hitting its embassy in the capital, Sanaa, in an overnight airstrike, but there were no visible signs of damage on the building.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen will investigate the accusation, according to the group’sn spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said.
Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran after Saudi Arabia executed a senior shia muslim cleric, with Saudi Arabia then ending its diplomatic relations with Iran. Other countries have downgraded their ties to Iran.
But witnesses in Sanaa said they could see no damage at the Iranian Embassy and that it was still standing. Saudi officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in response and was joined by some of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan. They are targeted by an ongoing Saudi-led military campaign on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Gulf Arab nations accuse the rebels of being tools of Iran, a charge the Houthis deny.
CMC Markets head of strategy Michael Hewson told the news agency: “There are rising stockpiles and the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia make any deal on production unlikely”.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran this week after an Iranian mob attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran Jan. 2 to protest the execution of a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric. Some 500,000 Iranians visit Saudi Arabia every year, many of whom are making the “lesser” pilgrimage or umrah to Mecca and Medina, which can be made at any time of the year.
At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Rouhani also accused the Saudis of providing money and weapons to “terrorists”, carrying out airstrikes in Yemen, and obstructing “the victory of Iraqi and Syrian governments”, the release said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s eastern Shiite heartland prepared to hold a service Thursday night to honor the executed Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr.
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Annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.
