The diplomatic rupture with Iran triggered by the execution of a Shia cleric was probably a side effect of a decision taken by Saudi Arabia for domestic reasons, rather than the outcome of a deliberate ploy to enrage its regional opponent.
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Ibrahim al-Jaafari was speaking on Wednesday in a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who appeared to indicate that Tehran was open to resolving the stand-off.
As the region’s dominant Sunni and Shiite Muslim powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran have a hard history and Riyadh fears that the nuclear agreement will empower Tehran.
Qais al-Khazali, the head of the powerful Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, gave a speech in the southern city of Basra in which he called on Baghdad to cut diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, expel the newly arrived ambassador and boycott Saudi goods. The United Arab Emirates downgraded relations with Iran, while Kuwait and Qatar recalled ambassadors.
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have spiralled since the execution of a Shi’ite cleric in Saudi Arabia.
“It said the U.S.is obligated to investigate the repeated and illegal use of cluster bombs because it is playing a role in the conflict by ‘coordinating military operations.’ It also said the USA should stop selling aerial munitions to Saudi Arabia without an investigation into alleged war crimes in Yemen”. 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.
Ansari, meanwhile, neither provided details about the attack, nor said when the attack was carried out. But it and the few other Saudi companies doing business in Iran faced increasing public pressure over the course of the week, as consumer and business groups called for boycotts of Iranian products.
Iranian state media even said embassy staff have been wounded in the strike, while Sanaa residents said that a bomb fell nearly 800 yards from the embassy and that only some stones and shrapnel fell into the embassy’s yard, Reuters reported.
In eastern Saudi Arabia, where al-Nimr agitated for greater political rights for Shiites in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, three days of mourning over his death were to end Wednesday night.
“If our demands are not met we will take escalating measures”, said Hajj Jawad al-Tulaibawi, a spokesman for Asaib.
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies in the Gulf, backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government, have been battling Shiite rebels in the country known as Houthis.
“I have spoken to the foreign ministers of some of the Arab countries to reduce the consequences of this issue and prevent enemies from dragging the region into a war that can have no winners”, Jaafari said.
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The sharp drop in crude prices, which has seen West Texas Intermediate for February delivery fall nearly 3% to just over $35 a barrel (£23.8), has been largely driven by the increased geopolitical tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
