Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic relations with Iran on Sunday in response to the storming of its embassy in Tehran in an escalating row over Riyadh’s execution of Shiite Muslim cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken opponent of the ruling Al Saudi family.
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In the latest salvo in a dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia and some of its Sunni Arab allies cut ties with Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Riyadh must end its prolonged efforts to confront Iran.
The attacks “represent a flagrant breach of worldwide agreements and norms and a grave violation of Iran’s global commitments for the security of diplomatic missions and the safety of diplomats”, the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) cited the country’s Foreign Ministry as saying.
Three Sunni-led countries – Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates – also severed or downgraded ties with Iran. It condemned “in the strongest terms” the attacks which saw protesters firebomb the Saudi embassy in Teheran and its consulate in Masshad. He was referring to the execution for “terrorism” Saturday of Nimr Al-Nimr, who had been behind anti-government protests among Saudi Arabia’s Shiite Muslim minority.
A scheduled January 18 trip by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to Tehran, according to a diplomatic source, has become uncertain following the tiff between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Coalition jets carried out the heavy strikes to target missile launchers used by the Houthi militia to fire at Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that the group has used civilian facilities, including abandoned embassies.
LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images The accusations come days after Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic.
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Pakistan also declined a Saudi call to join a Riyadh-led intervention, backed by most Sunni Gulf Arab states, in Yemen past year to fight Iranian-allied rebels. Annual imports from Saudi Arabia – mainly packing materials and textiles – total about $60 million a year. The protesters were enraged over the Sunni kingdom’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr over the weekend. Jordan summoned Tehran’s envoy to protest the attacks on Saudi missions.
