Sartaj Aziz to give in-camera briefing on Saudi-Iran issue today

The federal government’s 2015 report on human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia is in its final stages, according to an official at Global Affairs Canada, but there’s no date set yet for when it will be released to the public.

Riyadh also urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the Iranian attacks on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, reported Arab News.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabi enjoy excellent ties ranging from fraternal bonds to friendly relations which have been enhanced with the passage of time.

Protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi Embassy and a Saudi consulate elsewhere in the country after Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric and opposition leader, earlier this month.

In separate statements on its website on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming met senior Saudi and Iranian officials on his trip.

Tensions between revolutionary, mainly Shi’ite Iran and Saudi Arabia’s conservative Sunni monarchy have run high for years as they backed opposing forces in wars and political conflicts across the Middle East, usually along sectarian lines. Other Arab countries downgraded ties or recalled their envoys from Tehran.

“It strongly condemned these acts and stated that Iran carries the responsibility for these terrorist acts”, said GCC Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani following a meeting in Riyadh of the foreign ministers.

Arab League denounces Iran as row between rival nations continues.

Even so, relative parties remain concerned about the situation, as the rift between the two regional powers awaits to be resolved.

“If Iran would do so, it would be possible to live peacefully in the region as neighbors”.

To prevent that from happening, the two sides should, as stressed by Hua, “remain calm, exercise restraint and properly address their disputes through dialogues and consultations”.

“I can refer to you from minister Zarif that there is no intention to see the current tensions affect the current engagement in the Vienna momentum, of which they (Iran) are very much part”, he said.

Pakistani army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif reiterated that any threat to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would evoke a “strong response” from Islamabad, leaving no room for confusion in the nature of the commitment offered. “Among the Arab states, political attitudes over how to deal with Iranian interventions in the Arab world are different and varied”, he said.