Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has announced that Riyadh is severing diplomatic ties with Iran after demonstrators stormed its Tehran embassy. All Iranian diplomats are ordered to leave Riyadh within 48 hours.
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday, Jubeir accused Iran of trying to destabilize the region by creating “terrorist cells” in Saudi Arabia. He added that the attack on the embassy was in line with Iran’s alleged earlier attacks on diplomatic buildings.
“The kingdom, in light of these realities, announces the cutting of diplomatic relations with Iran and requests the departure of delegates of diplomatic missions of the embassy and consulate and offices related to it within 48 hours,” he said. “The ambassador has been summoned to notify them.”
Riyadh would not allow the Islamic Republic to undermine the Sunni kingdom’s security, he added.
The US, which is allied with the oil-rich kingdom, urged diplomatic engagement and called for leaders in the region to take “affirmative steps” to reduce tensions after the Saudi announcement.
Iran arrests 44
The move comes as the diplomatic crisis between the regional rivals worsens following the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr by Tehran on Saturday.
Saudi diplomats were recalled from Iran after protesters attacked the embassy building in Tehran early on Sunday, along with a consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Iran has arrested 44 people over the embassy storming, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani calling the incident “totally unjustifiable.”
The execution of the Shiite leader al-Nimr, however, caused outrage both among Iran’s officials and the general public. On Sunday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Saudi Arabia would face “divine retribution.”
Jubeir responded to Khamenei’s remarks by saying that Iran’s history was “full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction.”
Iran warned Saudi of ‘divine revenge’ following execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr
A war of words escalated between Tehran and Riyadh following a death sentence handed down to an opposition cleric. Iran’s Supreme Leader has condemned the killing, shortly after protesters stormed the Saudi embassy.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had harsh words for Saudi Arabia on Sunday, issuing threats to Iran’s regional rival following the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday, along with 46 other people, on charges of terrorism.
“The unjustly spilled blood of this martyr will have consequences,” Khamenei said, according to state news agency ISNA, warning Riyadh of “divine revenge.”
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said Tehran was supporting terrorism through its condemnation of the execution.
Al-Nimr had called for increased rights for the Shiite Muslim population in the Sunni-majority country, although Khamenei insists he never advocated violence.
Anger across the region
The Supreme Leader’s words came shortly after mass riots across the country in response to the execution. In Tehran, demonstrators broke into the Saudi embassy, torching the building and trashing its interior. Crowds also set fire to the Saudi consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry urged calm, while 40 demonstrators were arrested near the embassy.
In Iraq, Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also condemned the killing. “We received with deep sadness and regret the news of the martyrdom of a group of our brothers in the region,” he said. “The spilling of their pure blood – including of the late cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, may his soul rest in peace – is an injustice and an aggression.”
Criticism from the West
The US, a key ally of Saudi Arabia, and the EU also expressed disapproval of the decision to execute al-Nimr. The execution “risks exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when they urgently need to be reduced,” the US State Department said.
EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini issued a similar statement. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, meanwhile, said it wasn’t clear if those executed had even received a fair trial.
The criticism comes as the US and the EU have sought to make inroads with Iran following a heralded nuclear deal earlier this year.
-DW.COM