“Saudi Arabia’s approach is to create tension meant to negatively affect the Syrian crisis”, Zarif said in a foreign ministry statement. He said last year’s completion of a deal to curb his country’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief brought the hope that nations would be free to focus on “the serious challenge of extremism that is ravaging our region – and the world”.
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Exceptions were Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed Hezbollah is hugely influential, and Iran’s ally Syria, which is now suspended from the Arab League. After meeting on Sunday in Cairo for emergency talks requested by Riyadh, Arab League foreign ministers issued a joint statement denouncing the “hostile acts and provocations of Iran” in the dispute.
He also warned Iran risked being rejected by all the Arab countries of the region. Tehran then cut all commercial ties with Riyadh, and banned pilgrims from traveling to Mecca.
The Cabinet condemned the attacks, destruction, burning and looting at the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad, noting that the attacks came after Iranian aggressive regime’s comments which formed a blatant incitement that encouraged attacks on the missions and represented a flagrant violation of all worldwide agreements, charters and treaties.
In their first foreign trips this year, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince and defense minister, travelled to Islamabad last week, within days of each other, meeting civilian leadership, but also, crucially, Pakistan’s powerful generals.
Iran took steps on Monday to try to limit the diplomatic damage from an attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran by an angry mob, laying blame on a top security official and saying some of those who carried out the attack were being interrogated. According to Karami, the Saudi decision is being done at a time when Iran has consistently sought to ease tensions, while Saudi Arabia sought to escalate them.
Other Arab countries have recalled envoys to Iran and the United Arab Emirates downgraded relations in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
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The longstanding conflict between the two countries reached a boiling point when Iran didn’t prevent the ransacking of Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic missions in Iran.
