Iran blames Saudi Arabia for bombing its embassy in Yemen

Yemeni supporters of Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels hold banners bearing portraits of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration on Jan 7, 2016 outside the Saudi embassy in the capital Sanaa.

Iran vowed to file a report about their claim to the United Nations, while the Saudi military issued a statement through the kingdom’s state news agency, dismissing the allegation as false.

IRNA reported that the embassy walls had been damaged by shrapnel from a rocket strike.

The Iranians and the Saudis have been fighting a proxy war in Yemen since last March, with a Saudi-led coalition battling Shi’ite Houthi rebels who enjoy the support of Iran. The country is also freezing all Saudi imports.

He also said that the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s embassy in the capital Tehran and consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad are “regrettable incidents” and “not acceptable”. State media in Iran showed still photographs it said were of the diplomats arriving in Tehran on a Meraj Airlines jet.

Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after the attacks and Bahrain swiftly followed suit, severing diplomatic ties with Tehran and halting all flights to and from Iran.

Iran on Thursday accused Saudi Arabia of striking its embassy in Yemen during an overnight air campaign, but an Associated Press reporter on the scene saw no visible damage to the building in Sanaa.

Some were carrying pictures of Nimr al-Nimr, whose execution on January 2 prompted strong condemnations in Iran.

President Hassan Rouhani wrote to Iran s judiciary chief Wednesday urging a quick and conclusive case against 50 suspects accused of involvement in the storming of Saudi Arabia s embassy in Tehran.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Canberra angered by the execution of cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, who was critical of the kingdom’s treatment of its Shiite minority.