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Obama, Abadi discuss concern over Saudi Arabia execution in call
Posted On Jan 08 2016
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Iran on Thursday accused Saudi Arabia of deliberately launching an air strike on its embassy in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, according to media reports. A Saudi official said Thursday there was “no proof yet” Iran’s accusation was true.
Iran has also banned the import of goods from Saudi Arabia after the kingdom cut diplomatic ties over attacks on the Saudi embassy following the execution of a Shi’ite cleric.
The Horn of African nation becomes the latest country to cut off diplomatic relations after Djibouti which severed its relations with Iran on Wednesday while Qatar has recalled its ambassador from Tehran. Thus, Turkish-Iranian relations got sharpened because of tense relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Residents and witnesses in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, told Reuters that the embassy wasn’t hit, although there was “some shrapnel strewn nearby”.
The Saudi side has not confirmed the airstrike claim.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have long vied for influence in the Middle East. Their rivalry deepened following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the chaos of the Arab Spring, which gave rise to proxy wars in Syria and Yemen.
They also chanted “Down with the U.S.” and “Death to Israel”, traditional Iranian slogans at protests. Saudi Arabia on January 3 gave Iran’s ambassador to Riyadh 48 hours to leave the country after protesters in the Shiite-majority country stormed the Saudi Embassy and set parts of it on fire.
It comes amid growing diplomatic confrontations between Shiite power Iran and Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies that threaten to widen sectarian rifts around the region.
Nimr al-Nimr, 57, a Shiite cleric from Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province, was a well-known figure at anti-government demonstrations and criticized Saudi rulers in some of his sermons for their treatment of the kingdom’s Shiite minority. On Friday, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said that a man complained of being kidnapped at gunpoint by a gang and beaten in eastern Saudi Arabia.
