Following a dizzying sequence of events, including the Saudi execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr together with 46 others, the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the breaking off by the kingdom of diplomatic and commercial relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iran have expanded their fight to the soccer pitch.
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At Russia’s request, the council on Tuesday will discuss the conflict in Yemen after the Saudi-led coalition ended a ceasefire with Iran-backed rebels in the country.
Jubeir also accused Iran’s authorities of complicity in the attack on the embassy at the weekend, saying Saudi diplomats had seen security forces enter the building and take part in looting and that the police did not respond to more than one request for help.
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal yesterday assured the National Assembly that Islamabad’s role in the Middle East crisis would be constructive and positive with the aim to defuse tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, many analysts believe the timing of the execution of Mr. Al-Nimr and the others was created to whip up nationalist fervour at a time that the kingdom faces multiple problems. Iran, a staunch supporter of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the opposition, have participated in three rounds of global talks aimed at ending the conflict.
The Iranian government has distanced itself from the attack on the Saudi embassy and even suggested foreign elements organised it.
Meanwhile Kuwait became the latest Arab state to recall its ambassador from Iran to protest against attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions.
Saudi Arabia “is breaking off diplomatic ties with Iran and requests that all members of the Iranian diplomatic mission leave… within 48 hours”, he told a news conference Sunday.
Kuwait recalls its ambassador to Tehran, the fifth Arab country to cut or downgrade relations with Iran.
Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saudi Arabia’s top geopolitical goal has been to maximize its power at Iran’s expense.
PTI leader Shareen Mazari demanded government to take Parliament into confidence on the policy toward the Middle East crisis and grilled the government for not taking the house into confidence on the recently formed 34-nation military alliance by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s engagement to it.
The official Saudi Press Agency quoted al-Jubeir as denouncing Iranian sponsored “terrorism, violence and extremism” around the region – clear references to divides in flash points such as Syria and Yemen.
A Lebanese protester holds a picture of the Saudi Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a protest to denounce his execution, in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016.
World powers have sought to calm the tensions.
Any direct collision could jeopardize the American-led deal curbing Tehran’s nuclear capabilities if the US and the West are being seen as siding with Saudi Arabia, a close Washington ally.
United Nations deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said de Mistura “hopes that the adverse consequences of the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran do not affect the peace process with the Syrians”.
Sameh Shoukry said during a visit to Riyadh on Tuesday that Iranian behavior following sheikh Nimr al-Nimr’s execution is tantamount to “intervening in the kingdom’s internal affairs”.
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Seeking to have improved relations with Iran might constitute good diplomacy.
