Pakistan Reaffirms Full Support to Saudi Arabia ‘Against Any Threat’

Iran meanwhile accused Saudi Arabia of hurting efforts to resolve the Syrian civil war with the dispute, which has resulted in tensions between the Sunni and Shiite regional rivals reaching new heights.

Bin Zayed was speaking during a press conference held with his Saudi counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby following the conclusion of the Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Arabi was addressing Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Cairo for an emergency session called to discuss attacks on Saudi missions in Iran and its interference in the internal affairs of regional countries.

The opinion piece ran amid heightened tensions between the two Middle Eastern powers in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr.

Drawing upon the companionship of some Arab states in severing or downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran, he said that some states are trying to solve their economic problems by Saudi petro-dollars or they share political interests with Riyadh. Prior to the Arab League meeting, Shoukry condemned the violations against the Saudi diplomatic buildings in Iran.

Nimr’s execution angered Shi’ites across the Middle East. After protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, the conservative Sunni kingdom cut diplomatic relations with Shi’ite Iran. He said last year’s completion of a deal to curb his country’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief brought the hope that nations would be free to focus on “the serious challenge of extremism that is ravaging our region – and the world”. State oil company Saudi Aramco said none of its employees had been injured but gave no further details.

A number of countries – including the U.S., the U.K., China and Turkey – have urged both Saudi Arabia and Iran to show restraint amid the ongoing row.

Pakistan has affirmed that any threat to Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity will evoke strong response from Pakistan.

Saudi-Iranian relations were also severely tested in September when a stampede of Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca resulted in the deaths of many hundreds, including a large number of Iranians, which Zarif said was the result of Saudi negligence. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy multi faceted cooperation including in the fields of defence and counter terrorism.