Iranians hold protest against Saudi Arabia

An even greater divide exists among the Lebanese Shia population, with 95% saying they like Iran, while only 3% say the same about Saudi Arabia.

Some carried placards with the picture of Nimr, the cleric and activist whose execution by Saudi Arabia on Saturday unleashed a wave of anger across the Shiite world.

The Iranian government has recently banned the import of products from Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia’s goods from other countries.

The East African nation joins a growing number of countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to cut off diplomatic relations with Tehran amid escalating tensions. The United Arab Emirates downgraded relations with Iran, while Kuwait and Qatar have recalled their ambassadors.

A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Yemen since March, in an attempt to repel the Shia rebel Houthi movement, which is allied with Iran. Somalia declared that it is cutting diplomatic ties with Iran. “He started a war with Iran, executed prominent clerics and top officials, suppressed dissidents and ended up having that miserable fate”, he said.

The decision was taken during a meeting of Iran’s cabinet ministers headed by President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday, the report stated.

A protest by hundreds of Bahrain’s majority Shiites marching to denounce Saudi Arabia for its execution last week of a leading Shiite cleric has descended into violence.

The deputy head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) told Saudi Arabia on Thursday it would “collapse” in coming years if it kept pursuing what he called its sectarian policies in the region.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari on Thursday strongly denounced a rocket attack by the Saudi regime on the Iranian embassy in Yemen’s capital, stressing that the move was an “intentional” act by Riyadh that runs counter to global laws.

Iran has accused Saudi warplanes of “deliberately” attacking its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Tehran is providing military assistance to close ally President Bashar al-Assad against rebel groups, some backed by Saudi Arabia.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon published by Iranian news agencies earlier yesterday, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif complained about Saudi Arabia’s “provocations” towards Teheran.

Zarif also accused Saudi authorities of engaging in “numerous direct and at times lethal provocations against Iran”.