Saudi Arabia tells Iran to stop ‘interfering’ after Riyadh severs diplomatic ties

The Turkish government on Monday warned that a growing diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia would harm both countries and called on them to defuse tensions.

The Riyadh-Tehran rift benefits the Islamic State, since Sunni nations that support Saudi Arabia and countries with large Shiite populations where Iranian influence is growing are now less likely to present a united front.

Saudi Ambassador Abdallah Al Mouallimi had earlier urged the council to “take all appropriate measures to ensure the inviolability of diplomatic facilities and the protection of all Saudi diplomats in Iran”.

Iran, a staunch supporter of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the opposition, have participated in three rounds of global talks aimed at ending the conflict.

The Sudanese foreign ministry said its action was on response to “the barbaric attacks on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad”. Sudan said it also was severing diplomatic ties with Iran, which had sought to improve relations with Sudan in recent years to make it an economic and military foothold in Africa.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced on Monday that his country will cut air traffic with Iran and ban citizens from travelling there, Al Arabiya local news reported.

On Monday, Bahrain announced it would sever ties with Iran, while Sudan expelled the Iranian ambassdor from the country.

“What [Saudi Arabia] is really doing with this execution of this Shi’a cleric, it’s trying to back Iran off the plate, saying ‘we can mess up the entire deal with Iran if we so choose, ‘” he said.

Who was Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, and why did Saudi Arabia execute him?

Germany called on both sides to mend ties, with government spokesman Steffen Seibert telling reporters that “relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are of fundamental importance for solving the crises in Syria and Yemen, and for the stability of the entire region”. “We are urging all sides to show some restraint and to not further inflame tensions that are on quite vivid display in the region”, Earnest said. It wasn’t immediately clear how the Kuwait-Iran diplomatic ties would be affected by the move.

She said this was why other countries known for human rights violations, such as North Korea, were also not included. While not entirely responsible, the roiling turmoil contributed significantly to major downturns in stocks throughout the world; and, quite predictably, the price of oil recorded a sharp increase.