Iran accused Saudi Arabia on Thursday of attacking its embassy in war-torn Yemen’s capital city, highlighting the risk of escalation as the Muslim world’s two most ardent foes face off in a proxy war in Yemen.
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“This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all global conventions that protect diplomatic missions”, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by state TV channel IRIB, AFP reported.
An worldwide coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been launching airstrikes in Yemen at the request of president Hadi since March 2014, in an attempt to push Houthis out of areas they have come to control.
Tehran said an unspecified number of embassy staff had been wounded in the raid on the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa, which has been targeted by months of air strikes by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
Turkey summoned Iran’s ambassador on Thursday to demand a halt to Iranian media reports linking the execution of a Shiite cleric by Saudi Arabia with last week’s visit to Riyadh by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Washington and other Western powers have called for calm amid fears the dispute could raise sectarian tensions across the Middle East and derail efforts to resolve conflicts from Syria to Yemen. “We have always adopted a policy of interaction and dialogue”, Zarif said, reiterating that the Iranian government had condemned Saturday’s embassy attack as “not at all justified”.
Some of its allies among Sunni Arab states followed suit, with Bahrain and Sudan breaking off ties and the United Arab Emirates downgrading relations yesterday.
Iraq is willing to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia, its foreign minister said, as a deepening diplomatic row between the two regional heavyweights continued.
Javad Zarif said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon obtained Friday by The Associated Press that Iran has “no desire or interest in escalation of tension in our neighborhood” and hopes Saudi Arabia will “heed the cause of reason”.
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The decision at a SAFF executive meeting on Thursday comes days after individual clubs refused to travel to Iran for safety reasons.
