Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of using warplanes to attack the Iranian embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.
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In Yemen, a Saudi-led military coalition has battled rebel factions that Saudi Arabia claims are aided by Iran.
Asseri acknowledged that coalition jets carried out heavy airstrikes in Sana’a on Wednesday night, targeting missile launchers used by the Houthi militia.
The spokesman asserted that the accusations based on Houthis are not credible. He told Reuters a Sanaa resident went to the embassy Thursday and reported no damage. Furious Shiite protesters in Iran then ransacked and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran, prompting the Saudis to retaliate by cutting off diplomatic relations with Iran.
Riyadh has severed all ties with Tehran, withdrawn its diplomats and cut air links in response to weekend attacks on its missions in the Islamic republic. He added that the militants had used civilian buildings including abandoned embassies.
A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Yemen since March, in an attempt to repel the Shia rebel Houthi movement, which is allied with Iran.
Saudi allies Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti, and Somalia also cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.
The Saudi authorities should have not responded to the criticisms of al-Nimr by beheading him, Rouhani said in a meeting with visiting Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen.
Although al-Nimr was a Saudi, protesters in Shiite Iran responded by attacking Saudi diplomatic facilities in their country.
In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr burn an effigy of King Salman of Saudi Arabia as they hold posters of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq.
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“The cabinet has banned the entry of all Saudi products and products from Saudi Arabia”, a government statement said. Iran imported about $60 million per year in Saudi goods.
