Iran accuses Saudis of attacking Yemen embassy

Iranians have rallied against Saudi Arabia to protest the kingdom putting to death Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an execution that sparked regional protests and tensions.

Missiles fired by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in Yemen have hit Iran’s embassy in the capital Sanaa, Iran claimed on Thursday.

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said Iran’s claims would be investigated. On Thursday, the AP reporter said the embassy was still standing without any visible damage.

He also said the rebels had used civilian facilities including abandoned embassies. Diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which began with the kingdom’s execution of al-Nimr and later saw attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic, have seen countries around the world respond.

Zarif accused Saudi Arabia of “opposing” Iran’s diplomacy in the region for the last for two-and-a-half years, and of undermining Iran’s interests by holding down oil prices low and resisting Iran’s nuclear agreement.

Qatar on Thursday recalled its ambassador from Tehran, becoming the latest Gulf state to reduce its diplomatic presence there in response to the arson attack by protesters on the Saudi embassy on Saturday.

“Cordial relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are beneficial to the whole region”, Jaafari said, and Iraq can not remain silent in the face of such a rift. Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated even further on Thursday as Tehran severed all commercial ties with Riyadh.

Dan De Luce, Foreign Policy magazine’s chief national correspondent, said the United States and European nations warned the Saudi government not to follow through with the execution, fearing it could derail peace talks. Sanaa and other parts of Yemen are under the control of Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are backed by Iran.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Sunday announced the severance of all relations with Iran.

The ministry says the group had links to those behind a 2015 bombing that killed two police officers and planned to carry out other bombings.

Iran warned Saudi Arabia Wednesday, January 6 to stop working against as their diplomatic crisis intensified despite efforts to defuse a row that has raised fears of greater regional instability.