Oman regrets ‘unacceptable’ anti-Saudi attacks in Iran

Saudi Arabia and several Arab countries have since cut diplomatic ties with Iran over the issue.

Iran is accusing Saudi Arabia of “intentionally” attacking its embassy in Yemen as relations between the two Middle East powers continue to deteriorate.

In defending the sheikh’s execution, Prince Mohammed says: “The court did not, at all, make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shiite or Sunni”.

On Thursday afternoon, Iran’s state-run news agency said a Saudi-led airstrike the previous night hit the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, citing Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman.

“We need to stop the escalations of this problem, and not allow enemies of the region and enemies of Islam to lead the region to a war in which everyone would lose”, Mr al-Jaafari said, according to a BBC transcript of his remarks.

He drew on the recent execution of the top Shiite cleric, saying that it is by no means justifiable since Nimr al-Nimr pursued his religious mission through peaceful means and dialogue without resorting to armed struggles.

Despite these provocations, Zarif said Iran has refused to retaliate or even downgrade diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. So far, Sudan, Bahrain, and Somalia have also cut diplomatic ties with Iran in an expansion of tensions throughout the region.

Yemen’s civil war has been raging now for more than a year; the Sunni rulers of Saudi Arabia oppose the Tehran-backed Houthis, who are Shia as is Iran. An Associated Press reporter who reached the Iranian Embassy in Sanaa on Thursday just after the government announcement that it had been hit saw no damage to the building. The watchdog and other groups have alleged that Saudi officials discriminate against the Shiites by rarely allowing them to build mosques and limiting their access to public education, government employment and the justice system. Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of backing the Houthis.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon published by Iranian news agencies earlier yesterday, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif complained about Saudi Arabia’s “provocations” towards Teheran. Iran imported about $60 million per year in Saudi goods.