Arab League backs Saudi Arabia, condemns Iran

Iran also backs the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country’s civil war while Saudi Arabia insists he must go for any legitimate peace process to take place.

For his part Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir accused Iran of undermining regional security and interference in Arab affairs.

The execution touched off anti-Saudi demonstrations in many Shiite countries including in Iran where demonstrators sacked and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in second city Mashhad.

Iran has sacked a senior security official over his failure to stop the ransacking of Saudi Arabia’s embassy, which led the Sunni-ruled kingdom to sever diplomatic relations.

These statements were a direct incitement for launching the attacks on the diplomatic missions of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, Zarif alleges, has targeted Iranian diplomatic facilities in Yemen, Lebanon and Pakistan, killed Iranian diplomats, directed hate speech towards Iran and Shiite Muslims, and harassed Iranian pilgrims in the kingdom over recent years.

As news of the execution broke, angry protesters marched on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

The council also expressed its appreciation of the various “Islamic, Arab and friendly” countries and global and Arab organisations, parliaments and bodies that have expressed their support for the decisions and measures taken by Saudi Arabia to combat terrorism.

Aziz, however, said Pakistan will play a role at a proper time in defusing tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claims Saudi Arabia is using the row to hurt peace talks on Syria.

“Iran should reject intervention and its support for terrorism in order to live as a neighbour and if it continues to support terrorism, it will face opposition from Arab countries”, Saudi’s Al- Jubeir told reporters.

He was responding to certain queries regarding media reports about an in-camera briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.

But after talks with Mr Zarif in Tehran yesterday and with Saudi officials in the past week, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura insisted the dispute would not damage his efforts. “In Iran I got the same assurance”, he told reporters.