Indonesia to send special envoys to help ease Saudi-Iran tensions

The crisis in the relations between Riyadh and Tehran flared up January 2 after the execution of Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia.

Arab League chief Nabil Al Arabi accused Tehran of “provocative acts”. “Pakistan has affirmed that any threat to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity will evoke strong response from Pakistan”.

Geranmayeh said, the incident “exposed to a global audience” the existence of “factions from the hardline camp that support these orchestrated mob attacks” in the country.

Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran the next day and a number of its Sunni Arab allies followed suit, including Bahrain and Sudan.

Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad, prompting Riyadh to sever relations.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber-Ansari said Sunday that Saudi Arabia was also trying to counter Iran’s success in the nuclear deal it reached with six world powers in July, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Meanwhile, experts say the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has become progressively worse amid Riyadh’s growing worldwide isolation and increasing domestic instability.

ARAB League foreign ministers held an extraordinary meeting yesterday with a single agenda item – condemnation of the ransacking of Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic mission in Iran and Tehran’s “meddling” in Arab affairs.

He said Pakistan attached great importance to the security of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Several Arab countries have already condemned the Iranian attacks and summoned the Iranian ambassadors accredited in their capitals to voice their condemnation, Al Bawaba reported.

The council stands with Saudi Arabia’s decisions against Iran, he said.

But the announcement came just days after back-to-back visits by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Defence Minister, also the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, to goad Islamabad to play a more proactive role in the new alliance.

Iran and Saudi Arabia vie for regional dominance and frequently clash in proxy arenas such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen, but the diplomatic spat over Sheik Nimr al-Nimr’s execution marks a unsafe escalation of the rivalry with potential implications for the peace process in Syria and the ongoing conflict in Yemen. The Iranian foreign minister said in his letter. Iran’s cabinet has banned Saudi-made imports.