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In Saudi Arabia, senior United Nations officials discuss regional tensions and needs
Qatar has recalled its ambassador to Iran following an attack on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran, state media in Doha said on Wednesday, January 6.
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Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, cut diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday in response to the storming of its embassy in Tehran.
But while many in Iran were critical of the Saudi government’s execution of dissident Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday – even though few had heard of him – they were equally frustrated at the reaction of their own hardliners, who ransacked the Saudi embassy over the weekend. It did not, however, expel Tehran’s ambassador or downgrade the level of diplomatic relationship with Iran. The protesters, supporters of prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, chanted that al-Nimr’s blood had not been spilled in vain and that the Mahdi Army, Sadr’s disbanded Shiite militia, would avenge his death if needed. Expressing “deep concern” over the attacks, the council “called on the Iranian authorities to protect diplomatic and consular property and personnel and to respect fully their global obligations in this regard”.
Other analysts have suggested that Iran’s rising influence in the region led an increasingly isolated Saudi Arabia to push back against Iran and its allies, partly explaining the decision to execute al-Nimr.
While al-Nimr’s execution is unlikely to change Iraq-Saudi policy in any meaningful way, it does have the potential to set off violence in Iraq, Sowell said. Meanwhile, more protests were expected after Friday prayers, while mourners in Bahrain planned a candlelight vigil for the sheikh on Friday night.
It was crushed by the state with help from Gulf Arab allies, including Saudi Arabia. The watchdog and other groups have alleged that Saudi officials discriminate against the Shiites by rarely allowing them to build mosques and limiting their access to public education, government employment and the justice system. “They are reviewing a crime, and a procedure, and a trial, and a sentence and carrying out the sentence”. And human rights activists said al-Nimr’s trial was tightly controlled and unfair.
Oil traders said the crisis between Saudi Arabia, also the world’s second-largest oil producer, and Iran, which holds some of the largest proven oil reserves, was pushing up prices. Iran’s annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.
That deal, when finally implemented, will end sanctions on Iran’s oil and gas industry and could see the Islamic republic challenge Saudi Arabia’s role as the Middle East’s dominant energy and economic power.
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“For the past two-and-a-half years, Saudi Arabia has opposed Iran’s diplomacy”, he said at the press conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.