Djibouti: Aligns With Saudi and Cuts Ties With Iran

The claims reflect escalating tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which intensified this week after the Saudis executed a prominent Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, whom they accused of being a terrorist.

The standoff has seen Saudi Arabia sever diplomatic ties with its longtime regional rival and could hinder efforts to resolve the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, where Riyadh and Tehran back opposite sides, as well as affect the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. In late March, a Saudi-led worldwide coalition started carrying out airstrikes against Houthi positions at Hadi’s request.

He added that Houthis use abandoned embassies for their purposes, but it was unclear whether the Iranian embassy had been fully functioning or not.

Chamber of commerce leaders told local daily newspaper al-Riyadh that Saudi businesses should replace Iranian goods with alternatives from other Arab and Islamic countries. The country is also freezing all Saudi imports.

“We hope that all parties can remain calm and exercise restraint and appropriately resolve relevant issues via dialogue and consultation”, she said.

Also on January 7, Tehran announced it had banned all products from Saudi Arabia. Shia-dominated areas in eastern Saudi Arabia, the home of al-Nimr, held a three-day mourning period for the cleric.

Annual imports from Saudi Arabia total about $60 million a year and consisted mostly of packing materials and textiles.

A number of Arab states have either cut or downgraded the diplomatic ties with Tehran.

“By punishing the attackers and those who orchestrated this obvious offense, we should put an end once and forever to such damage and insults to Iran’s dignity and national security”, Rouhani was quoted as saying in a letter published by the state news agency IRNA. The Somali Foreign Ministry said it recalled its acting ambassador to Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

FILE – In this Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016 file photo taken by a citizen journalist, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, mourners gather for Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in al-Awamiya, Saudi Arabia.