Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced Monday that his country will cease air traffic with Iran, placing a travel ban for its citizens, reported Al Arabiya.
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Jubeir blamed Iran’s “aggressive policies” for the diplomatic action, alluding to years of tension that spilled over on Saturday night when Iranian protesters stormed the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran.
Countries including China, Germany, and the United States have voiced concern over the dispute, calling for restraint from the two countries.
“It is not going to be helpful for us to own this process, certainly to be seen to be driving it”, the USA official said.
Brent jumped 4 percent early on worries about the tensions. Oil prices fell, and Gulf stocks tumbled, with six of the region’s seven exchanges down. Iran and Saudi Arabia are on opposing ends of a range of crucial Middle East issues, including the war in Syria – where Tehran backs President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Riyadh supports rebel forces – and Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition is battling Shiite insurgents. “It was very hard to get everybody around the table”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
“There is no escalation on the part of Saudi Arabia”.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in far-month February was trading higher by Rs 8 or 0.31 per cent at Rs 2,571 per barrel with a business turnover of 19 lots. The United Nations aims to hold talks on January 25 in Geneva. He said Riyadh would attend upcoming talks on Syria, but took a swipe at Iran’s role in the almost five-year war there, saying: “They have been taking provocative and negative positions… and I don’t think the break in relations is going to dissuade them from such behaviour”.
The UN envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, heads to Riyadh on Wednesday to push for a renewed ceasefire.
Al-Nimr, a central figure in the Arab Spring-inspired protests by Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, long denied advocating violence.
Ban also said he is deeply dismayed over the execution by Saudi Arabia of 47 people, including al-Nimr, said a statement released by his spokesperson on Saturday. Investment ties are also minimal, though Saudi food conglomerate Savola has major manufacturing operations in Iran.
Shi’ite groups united in condemnation of Saudi Arabia while Sunni powers rallied behind the kingdom, hardening a sectarian split that has torn apart communities across the Middle East and nourished the jihadist ideology of Islamic State.
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And on Monday, the UN Security Council issued a strongly worded statement condemning the attack on the Saudi embassy – making no mention of the execution of the cleric. The sheikh’s brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, told The Associated Press that Saudi officials informed his family that the cleric had been buried in an undisclosed cemetery, a development that could lead to further protests.
