The poster behind the men shows Mohammed Ali Abdulkarim Suwaymil a young Saudi Shiite who was executed at the same time as al-Nimr.
Advertisement
“For the past 2¹/₂ years, Saudi Arabia has opposed Iran’s diplomacy”, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif charged at a news conference.
Saudi officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
“We hope that relations between the influential countries of the region will improve and the parties will keep up regional peace and stability”, she added.
As for the continued fallout, 54 Iranian diplomats and their families arrived back in Tehran from Riyadh – their service cut short after Saudi Arabia severed all ties with Iran.
President Hassan Rouhani criticized the incident and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice but Saudi Arabia chose to sever ties with Iran.
Iranian state television made the announcement Thursday. Most of those killed were Sunnis linked to al-Qaeda attacks in the kingdom.
“The intentional act of the Saudi government was a violation of all worldwide conventions and regulations about protecting the security and safety of diplomatic missions in all situations”, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber-Ansari said Thursday, according to IRNA. It wasn’t a funeral, as the sheikh’s brother has said Saudi authorities had already buried his body in an undisclosed cemetery. Erdogan said later however, that the executions were Saudi Arabia’s internal affair.
In other developments, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir arrived in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, for meetings with Pakistani leaders.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have long vied for influence in the Middle East. Their rivalry deepened following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the chaos of the Arab Spring, which gave rise to proxy wars in Syria and Yemen.
Advertisement
Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince said he did not believe war would break out with Iran. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has responded in kind by backing Sunni forces throughout the region.
