The new crisis has had the effect of hardening a wider confrontation between the loose-knit coalitions of allies each can call upon in the region; some of Riyadh’s allies also cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after the embassy attack, while Iran’s warned of repercussions.
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The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, recalled its ambassador from Tehran in a downgrading of ties to focus mainly on commercial affairs.
“We will not allow Iran to destabilise our region”.
Iran said Saudi Arabia made a “strategic mistake” that could only further divide the region and fuel militancy during crucial battles against the Islamic State and efforts to end Syria’s civil war.
Following angry exchanges over Saudi Arabia’s execution of the prominent Shiite cleric, Riyadh and then Bahrain and Sudan severed relations with Tehran, the main Shiite power.
Global financial markets were roiled by the deepening tensions between the OPEC giants.
Tensions between the regional rivals skyrocketed after Saudi Arabia executed Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others on Saturday after they were convicted of terrorism-related charges.
The United Nations has said that it wants peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition to begin in Geneva on January 25.
The U.N. envoys says “we can not afford to lose this momentum” on Syria. “It is so clearly in the interests of both countries to advance a political solution to the situation inside of Syria”.
“It is hard for us to know in the wake of the executions whether either side is using this to affect the outcome in Syria”, a second senior State Department official said, “or whether this behavior by Saudi Arabia and the Sunni states is an effort to throw the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) in the mix”.
The Swiss ministry, in a statement dated on Monday, said that “these mass executions risk reviving the confessional tensions which have already caused far too many victims in this region of the world”. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Iran late on Sunday, hours after protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in protest of the execution.
Saudi Arabia is not one of the countries or regions identified in the five-year strategy.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday told Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir he was extremely troubled by the break in ties, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority suspended all flights to and from Iran, saying the move was based on the kingdom’s cutting of diplomatic ties.
However, Kirby said the USA would continue to do what it can to try to defuse tensions.
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China was among the countries expressing concern at the meltdown, urging the two parties “to maintain calm and restraint”, and Russia has offered its services as a mediator, according to Russian news agencies.
