Zarif said Sunni Saudi Arabia had engaged in a series of “direct provocations” toward Shi’ite Iran, including the execution of Nimr and what he described as “persistent mistreatment” of Iranian pilgrims visiting Mecca.
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Turkey summoned Iran’s ambassador on Thursday to demand a halt to Iranian media reports linking the execution of a Shi’ite cleric by Saudi Arabia with last week’s visit to Riyadh by President Tayyip Erdogan.
The council stressed that GCC countries support the decisions and measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to find perpetrators of terrorist acts and instigators of sedition and bring them to justice.
In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon published by Iranian news agencies earlier on Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif complained about Saudi Arabia’s “provocations” towards Tehran. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no damage to the building, which sits in a neighborhood near a presidential palace thats seen many previous strikes.
The Iranian source denied the allegation. The two powers, both major oil exporters, have been locked in a diplomatic battle since Saudi Arabia executed Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Jan 2. It wasnt a funeral, as the sheikhs brother has said Saudi authorities had already buried his body in an undisclosed cemetery. A protest Friday in Bahrain saw hundreds of the countrys majority Shiites marching to denounce Saudi Arabia for al-Nimrs execution.
The protesters took to the streets after Friday prayers in the town of Sitra, south of the Bahraini capital of Manama, chanting slogans against the government, which is allied with Saudi Arabia’s Sunni monarchy. Referring to regional developments, he said that they would carry on with efforts seeking a political solution to the Syrian crisis in accordance with Geneva I. He added that they are also committed to supporting the legitimate government in Yemen, stating that Iran still supports the Houthi militants in the country. Police fired tear gas and birdshot while protesters threw Molotov cocktails as they tried to reach a main highway. No further details were immediately available.
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Tension between Tehran and Riyadh has extended to the football pitch, with the Saudi football association saying it would not participate in global matches in Iran.
