A Shia Muslim who lives in Greece takes part in a rally against the execution of cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, outside Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016.
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“We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack within several hours”, he said.
The reported incident in Yemen’s capital comes amid rising tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.
The Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hossein Sadeghi was quoted on state television as saying that anger at Nimr’s execution was natural but the response was not.
A number of Arab states have either cut or downgraded the diplomatic ties with Tehran. Egypt cut ties with Iran in 1989. Shia-dominated areas in eastern Saudi Arabia, the home of al-Nimr, held a three-day mourning period for the cleric.
Saudi coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on Wednesday night to target missile launchers used by the Houthi militia to fire at Saudi Arabia. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no visible damage at the building.
SAUDI warplanes have been accused of “deliberately” striking Iran’s embassy in Yemen in an air raid that wounded staff, as Iran banned all Saudi Arabian imports.
Meanwhile in Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said China has sent an envoy to Saudi Arabia and Iran, calling on all sides to exercise restraint.
Despite months of air strikes and a ground campaign by the Saudi-led coalition, the Iranian-allied Houthis remain in control of Sanaa and other areas of the country.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that Kerry talked by phone with multiple Iranian and Saudi leaders to try to “restore some sense of calm”, urge them to use dialogue and keep in mind there are other pressing issues in the region, including the situations in Syria and Yemen.
While Riyadh views the Houthis as Iranian proxies working to expand Tehran’s influence, the rebels themselves insist that their sole aim is to liberate their nation from a corrupt government.
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.
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Iran hit back Thursday by announcing a ban on imports from the kingdom, which will reportedly affect goods worth about $40 million (36.7 million euros).
