“We need to stand united… and stop those who are adding fuel to the fire”. In Iraq, neighbouring Sunni regimes backed Sunni militants, while Iran supported the new government and Shi’ite militias.
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“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran, and its Consulate General in Mashhad in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in intrusions into the diplomatic and consular premises, causing serious damage”, said the council statement.
On Monday, Bahrain and Sudan announced severing of relations with Iran citing Tehran’s intervention in Arab affairs. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States are among the 18 nations in the International Syria Support Group, which helped craft the plan that includes a cease-fire in Syria.
On Tuesday, Kuwait said it was recalling its ambassador from Tehran, describing the attack on the Saudi embassy there as a “flagrant breach of global norms”.
Russian Federation offers to mediate and US Secretary of State John Kerry calls both countries’ foreign ministers to urge calm.
Saudi Arabia’s influence over Sunni tribes in the vast neighboring Iraqi province of Anbar has dwindled, said Ayham Kamel, Middle East and North Africa director at Eurasia Group.
“Saudi Arabia has been creating tensions and collisions in the region”. They are right. And then there’s the nuclear deal reached past year between Iran and Western powers, which has the Saudis anxious that their longtime USA allies may be changing horses.
Already tense relations between Iran’s Shiite leadership and Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies took a turn for the worse when Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric on Saturday. “So while we continue to make all efforts to facilitate dialogue, the emphasis is on local leadership to work through their differences and find the best path forward through this tension”.
Even if USA diplomacy manages to tamp down this round of escalation, the Saudi-Iranian cold war represents just the kind of crisis that’s likely to remain unresolved and not amenable to US political persuasions.
Elsewhere, peace in Yemen and Syria looks more elusive and people in Lebanon, Iraq – two countries also with a history of deadly sectarian conflict – and Afghanistan will also be anxious about potential implications, according to Jane Kinninmont, senior research fellow at Chatham House in London.
After the execution, the Saudi embassy was stormed by protesters in Tehran.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry said three Sunni mosques were attacked with bombs overnight in the Shiite majority province of Babil south of Baghdad, in one sign of the rising tensions.
Iranian demonstrators burn representations of the USA and Israeli flags during a demonstration in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran, Iran.
“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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Restating the kingdom’s position on Syria, Jubeir said Riyadh sought a solution based on the Geneva 1 communique, a 2012 document setting out guidelines for a path to peace including a transitional governing authority, SPA said.
