Besides, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain completely terminated air services with Iran.
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“Iran, confident of its strength, has refused to retaliate or break – or even downgrade – diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia”, Zarif wrote.
Though it was the executions of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shi-ite cleric and three other Shi’ite Muslims, which drove up sectarian tension with Shi-ite power Iran, analysts say they were meant mostly to send a signal to militant Sunnis.
Salman earlier arrived in Islamabad, making him the second top Saudi official to visit Pakistan in a week amid growing tension with Iran over Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr’s recent execution.
In separate statements on its website on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming met senior Saudi and Iranian officials on his trip.
Iran, which denounced the attacks on the embassies and vowed to punish the perpetrators, has accused Saudi Arabia of using the crisis to distract attention from the execution and as a cover for anti-Iranian diplomatic efforts.
Jaber Ansari said cutting ties with Iran and putting pressure on other countries in doing so will not benefit Riyadh, calling its policies on the region “destructive”.
The Saudi foreign minister threatened Iran with opposition from all Arab countries, but promised that the row with Iran would not affect peace talks in Syria. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy multi faceted cooperation including in the fields of defence and counter terrorism.
Last year Saudi Arabia executed 153 people, majority for drug trafficking or murder, according to AFP tallies.
Speaking at a news conference after an Arab League meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir said his country would discuss any potential further actions against Iran with its regional and global allies but gave no details on what those measures might involve.
In Cairo, the Arab League held an emergency meeting of foreign ministers.
General Raheel Sharif said “tany threat to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would evoke a strong response from Pakistan”.
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A footnote accompanying the video said the attack was carried out by Shia youth in revenge for the execution of Sheikh Nimr, although the authenticity of the claims could not be verified.
