Iran’s Rouhani wants urgent case against embassy suspects

After the attack on its embassy in Tehran, Saudi Arabia cut off its ties with Iran.

In a development that could further strain relations, Saudi media reported Friday that four Iranians would go on trial in the kingdom, one for spying and the other three for “terrorism”.

Tehran said Saudi warplanes had attacked its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, damaging the building and injuring its staff.

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.

Powerful Iran-backed Shi’ite militia called on Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi – a Shi’ite who has staked his credibility on efforts to reconcile with Sunnis – to shut a Saudi embassy that reopened only last month after decades of strained ties. On Thursday, the AP reporter said the embassy was still standing without any visible damage. A spokesperson for the Saudi-led Sunni coalition conducting a military intervention in Yemen against anti-government Shia rebels known as the Houthis said there would be an investigation.

Somalia joins Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Bahrain in cutting ties to Iran amid the crisis. Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults. Saudi forces then moved to “immediately” to destroy the missile’s launch pad within Yemen.

The group scolded Swedish home goods retailer Ikea for selling a Persian carpet with a “made in Iran” label at its stores in Saudi Arabia, and applauded a local Riyadh-based carpet shop chain for deciding to end sales of Iranian rugs.

While Riyadh sees the Houthis as a proxy for bitter regional rival Iran to expand its influence, the Houthis deny this and say they are fighting a revolution against a corrupt government and Gulf Arab powers beholden to the West. He also urged Iran to respect judicial rulings of the Kingdom.

Within hours of the embassy attack, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called the violence “totally unjustified” but accused Saudi Arabia Tuesday of focusing attention on the incident to “cover its crime” of executing Nimr.