Wednesday’s remarks from Oman were its first over the ongoing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which began with the kingdom’s execution of Sheikh Nimr Al Nimr.
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Mohammad Javad Zarif, the moderate foreign minister, said the damage to the embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashhad was “in no way acceptable”.
“The current ramping up in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran only further confirms our view that Saudi Arabia is unlikely to cut its output to help Iran regain market share”, said analysts at consultancy group Wood Mackenzie. It’s not clear whether al-Nimr was beheaded with a sword, though Saudis routinely use that form of execution.
Qatar’s foreign ministry called the embassy attack a “violation of global charters and norms that ensure the security and protection of diplomatic missions and their members”. Saudi allies Bahrain and Sudan have followed suit and the United Arab Emirates downgraded its ties with Tehran.
Bahrain-base of the US Fifth Fleet-cut air links with Iran on Tuesday.
Now, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been calling Nimr a “martyr”:He said Saudi Arabia will face “divine revenge” for killing Nimr.
“All Iranian officials condemn it”, he added.
State department spokesman John Kirby said the phone conversations involved foreign ministers of both countries and the Saudi deputy crown prince.
The nuclear deal, once implemented, would gradually eliminate some sanctions against the Islamic republic, potentially posing a challenge to Saudi Arabia, which has been pumping out more oil to reduce prices, partly in anticipation of Iran rejoining the market. Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said if tensions were allowed to escalate, the entire region could be affected.
The U.N. envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, was en route to Riyadh on Monday with plans to later visit Tehran.
Unless something unforeseen happens, this split will blow over in the short term.
Riyadh is trying to compensate for its political failures in regional conflicts, according to Nobakht.
The United Nations Security Council spoke up, criticizing the protests on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said a plane carrying 54 Iranian diplomats and their families had landed at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport.
Nimr, one of 47 men executed Saturday, was a driving force behind 2011 anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
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Last month, the kingdom announced it was setting up a 34-nation Islamic coalition to combat the “disease” of extremism, but nothing has been done and the initiative has been seen as little more than a claim to leadership of the region to the exclusion of Iran.
