Saudi Arabia reacted to the Iranian aggression by expelling all Iranian diplomats and severed not only all diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic-the Saudi regime also called for a ban on imports of Iranian goods after Iran announced a ban on imports from Saudi Arabia.
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“Today, some in Riyadh not only continue to impede normalization but are determined to drag the entire region into confrontation”, he wrote.
Yet it has both large Sunni and Shia Muslims populations, and is likely to want to avoid escalated tensions between Shia Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia.
Iran and Saudi relations deteriorated sharply in recent days after the execution of prominent Shiite cleric and dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr by Riyadh last week.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi urged member countries to adopt a strong and clear common position, calling on Iran to stop all forms of interference in the affairs of Arab nations.
In the op-ed, Zarif said Saudi Arabia has been trying to block the finalization of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The feud first erupted last week after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in response to the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia religious leader in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and some other states have broken off ties with Iran over the attack.
Chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Cabinet commended the judiciary’s efficiency and its independence and integrity, Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported on Monday.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday put to death one of its citizens convicted of murder, bringing to 51 the number of locals and foreigners executed this year.
Instead of the parliament, the sources said, the government has chose to give in-camera briefing over the issue to the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also rejected Tehran s claims it was using the dispute to back away from worldwide efforts to finally end Syria s almost five-year civil war. “The people of Pakistan will always stand with the people of Saudi Arabia”, he said. “Riyadh and Tehran have very different lists of terrorist organizations and moderate opposition groups that can be negotiated with, and the escalation of tensions between them may stall the process of coordinating these lists”, Dolgov said.
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The execution touched off anti-Saudi demonstrations in many Shiite countries including in Iran where demonstrators sacked and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in second city Mashhad.
