Saudi accused of missile strike on Iranian embassy in Yemen

A Houthi militant walks on the rubble of the Chamber of Trade and Industry headquarters after it was hit by a Saudi-led air strike in Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

Ansari indicated that guards at the embassy had been injured in the incident, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

He confirmed heavy air strikes were carried out in Sana’a on Wednesday night, but said they were targeting Houthi missile launchers.

Iran said Thursday it would protest to the UN Security Council after it accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately bombing its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies in the Gulf, backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government, have been battling Shiite rebels in the country known as Houthis.

In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr burn an effigy of King Salman of Saudi Arabia as they hold posters of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq.

Turkey summoned Iran’s ambassador on Thursday to demand a halt to Iranian media reports linking the execution of a Shiite cleric by Saudi Arabia with last week’s visit to Riyadh by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran this week after Iranian mobs attacked Saudi diplomatic compounds. The United Arab Emirates also downgraded relations with Iran while Kuwait and Qatar recalled their ambassadors.

The Saudis are leading military action in Yemen against Iran-backed Shia rebels who are now in control of large parts of the country.

Iran lashed out again at Saudi Arabia for the execution on Tuesday, with President Hassan Rouhani accusing Riyadh of seeking to “cover its crime” by severing ties.

AFP reported that Iran on Thursday also banned all products from Saudi Arabia and that a ban on Iranians traveling for religious pilgrimage to Mecca would continue.

Medical sources said 65 people had been killed, including some civilians, though one official said between 50 and 60 had died.