Iranians stormed the Saudi embassy in Iran’s capital of Tehran over the weekend, prompting Saudi Arabia to pull its diplomats from the country and cut ties with the Islamic republic.
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Foreign ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq told reporters on Tuesday that Ghandour will take part in the Arab League’s emergency ministerial council “that will take position on the attacks on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran”. Saudi Arabia and Iran are long-standing rivals for pre-dominance in West Asia and the region’s heavy-weights; they see themselves as the leaders of the Sunni and Shia world, respectively.
“This was a figure active on the sensitive Sunni-Shia sectarian fault line that creates tension in the Kingdom and far beyond”.
Al-Nimr’s death led to demonstrations across Shia-majority countries including Iran, where protesters set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the kingdom’s consulate in Iran’s second city Mashhad.
The United Arab Emirates, home to hundreds of thousands of Iranians, partially downgraded its relations with Iran. Kuwait has also recalled its ambassador to Iran.
The United Nations and the US called for an end to the diplomatic ructions, with US Secretary of State John Kerry’s office issuing a statement, “stressing the need for dialogue and engagement”.
“He is urging calm”.
This is not just another Middle East spat.
But analysts say he has resisted pressure from Iranian-backed Shia militias, politicians and protesters to close the newly reopened Saudi embassy in Baghdad.
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. Since then, Iranians have attacked several embassies in Tehran including those of Kuwait in 1987, Saudi Arabia in 1988, Denmark in 2006 and Britain in 2011. (For one, Russian Federation and the USA can’t even agree on who is a rebel and who is a terrorist, and thus, who can attend the talks.) “From our side it should have no effect because we will continue to work very hard to support the peace efforts”, said Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, the Saudi ambassador to the United Nations.
Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have spiralled since the execution of a Shi’ite cleric in Saudi Arabia.
She added that Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak’s official visit to Iran scheduled for this month might have to be postponed.
Fears have reached investors who are eyeing oil in the event of a conflict escalation.
He went on to say that it was quite natural and expected that the move would be condemned not only by Iran but the entire worldwide community.
National interest will be given priority in context of the diplomatic row in the Middle East, he said.
“I have spoken to the foreign ministers of some of the Arab countries to reduce the consequences of this issue and prevent enemies from dragging the region into a war that can have no winners”, Jaafari said.
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Late on Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults.
