“Saudi Arabia is responsible for the damage to the embassy building and the injury to some of its staff”, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said on January 7.
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Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran soured after execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, by the Kingdom along with other 46 people, which was followed by a strong protest from Iran. Iran has banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia after the kingdom cut diplomatic ties over attacks on the Saudi embassy following the execution of al-Nimr.
Qatar shares with Iran access to the world’s largest natural gas field beneath the waters of the Gulf.
The crisis has seen Saudi Arabia sever ties with Iran after crowds of protesters in Iran attacked two of its diplomatic posts.
On Sunday, furious demonstrators in the Iranian cities of Tehran and Mashhad stormed Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic buildings in protest at the Al Saud’s execution of Sheikh Nimr.
A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been carrying out air strikes since March in Yemen against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.
Accordingly, all entry points across the country including free trade zones and special economic zones will be ordered to stop any product or any item that has been originated in or produced by Saudi Arabia.
Turkey summoned Iran’s ambassador on Thursday to demand a halt to Iranian media reports linking the execution of a Shiite cleric by Saudi Arabia with last week’s visit to Riyadh by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Command of Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen group said it intercepted the missile Thursday morning in the country’s Jizan province, “where it was destroyed without causing any damage”, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
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That diplomatic rift has dampened hopes for a timely resolution to Yemen’s civil war, where Iran backs Houthi rebels who are seeking to reinstall former president Saleh.
