Gulf Arab states to hold extraordinary meeting on Iran

Saudi Arabia’s allies continue to move against Iran, with Kuwait withdrawing its ambassador and delivering a protest over this weekend’s attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia has said its decision to break diplomatic ties with Iran will not affect efforts to negotiate peace in Syria and Yemen – where the two regional heavyweights support opposite sides.

The latest developments after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Tehran amid a dispute over Riyadh’s execution of an opposition Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are major rivals for power in the Middle East and back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

A Saudi ally, Sudan cut ties with the Islamic Republic after Iranian protesters attacked the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashdad.

Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran on Sunday.

He said Riyadh would attend the upcoming talks on Syria, but took a swipe at Iran’s role in the almost five-year war there, saying: “They have been taking provocative and negative positions… and I don’t think the break in relations is going to dissuade them from such behaviour”. The guards had previously issued harsh criticism against Saudi Arabia for its execution of Nimr.

Saudi Ambassador Abdallah Al Mouallimi had earlier urged the council to “take all appropriate measures to ensure the inviolability of diplomatic facilities and the protection of all Saudi diplomats in Iran”.

The kingdom responded by severing ties with Iran.

There was even an opportunity for Beijing to bargain with the two countries on prices as Iran and Saudi Arabia sought support from China. News of his execution has sparked Shiite protests from Bahrain to Pakistan.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke by phone with the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to urge them to “avoid any actions that could further exacerbate the situation”, said Ban’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric. In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Iran’s United Nations envoy Gholamali Khoshroo said more than 40 protesters have been arrested and that authorities are searching for other suspects.

Jaafari met with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and was scheduled to meet President Hassan Rouhani later, the official IRNA news agency said.