Arab FMs warn Iran against interference

Riyadh denies this. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir reiterated Saudi “support for the Syrian opposition and for efforts to find a peaceful solution” in the country.

Dammam- Pressures on the Iranian regime have intensified especially after the diplomatic procedures taken by several other countries towards Tehran in their protest against the assaults on Saudi Embassy and its Public Consulate in Iran.

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.

Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia soured dramatically following the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken critic of the Saudi monarchy, along with 46 other people convicted of terrorism on January 2.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif railed at Saudi Arabia’s “barbarism” and support for “extremism” in a New York Times op-ed published Sunday, the latest blow in an escalating feud between the two Gulf states.

In his meeting with the Saudi minister at the General Headquarters, the army chief delivered a stronger message – probably offering the visiting leader the sound bite that he came looking for. In a closing statement distributed after the meeting, the Arab League also referred to the discovery by Bahrain of a militant group that it said was backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. “What happened was not because of the execution of a Saudi citizen”, the minister said, referring to al-Nimr. Ahmed Shaheed said in a report to the UN General Assembly that most of the executions violated global laws banning the use of capital punishment for non-violent offenses.

Iran took steps on Monday to try to limit the diplomatic damage from an attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran by an angry mob, laying blame on a top security official and saying some of those who carried out the attack were being interrogated.

A Saudi anti-government protester carries a poster with the image of Shiite cleric Sheik Nimr al-Nimr during the funeral of three Shiite Muslims allegedly killed by Saudi security forces in the eastern town of al-Awamiya.

The row between the two regional powers has raised concerns over the Syrian peace process as both countries are seen as essential in the ongoing battle against the Islamic State, and are viewed as important players to help lead Syria and Yemen out of devastating wars.