Saudi Arabia ‘must stop’ efforts against Iran: Zarif

The execution of Shia religious leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has provoked worldwide condemnation with human rights groups claiming that he was beheaded for opposing the Saudi regime.

THE escalating standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia may raise instability in the Middle East, but it will probably not become a direct military confrontation, experts and diplomats say.

The row has raised fears of an increase in sectarian tensions in the Middle East that could derail efforts to resolve pressing issues including the wars in Syria and Yemen.

The Security Council joined those calls late on Monday, issuing a statement urging all sides to “take steps to reduce tensions in the region”.

Instead, “it is Saudi Arabia that will suffer”, he argued, reiterating Tehran’s harsh criticism of Nimr’s killing but condemning the violence by protesters as unjustified actions “beneath the dignity of the Iranian people”.

Bahrain has also severed its diplomatic relations with Iran and shut down its diplomatic mission in Tehran.

The tension with Saudi Arabia “will have no impact on Iran’s national development”, Nobakht said.

But while Iran’s antagonism to the West has softened under its latest elected government, helped by United States diplomacy under President Barack Obama, Saudi Arabia appears to be fomenting more trouble in the region.

In December, the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers both took part in a high-level meeting in NY to talk about the Syrian crisis.

Bahrain and Sudan followed suit on Monday, while the UAE reduced its level of diplomatic representation in the Islamic republic.

“Egypt has not had diplomatic relations with Iran for more than three decades”.

Relations between Riyadh and Tehran were already strained over their support for opposite sides in conflicts in Syrian and Yemen, and were exacerbated over Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Al-Mouallimi said his nation had “nothing but respect” for Iran’s ancient culture, as the two countries live in the same region and have the same religion.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia, both overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim powers, share the same vision over the conflict in Syria where they believe only the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad can bring an end to nearly five years of civil war.

A spokeswoman for Cameron would not confirm that a trip to Saudi Arabia had been planned or delayed due to Nimr’s execution.

“We want to see tensions reduced, we want to see dialogue restored”, said John Kirby, the State Department spokesman.

The U.N. Security Council did not address the execution of Nimr, who was convicted of inciting sectarian strife, sedition and other charges after his 2012 arrest. They have also parried in Bahrain, where a Sunni ruler governs a mostly Shiite population, and in Iraq, where Iran holds considerable influence over the predominantly Shiite government; and traded barbs over the death toll of the stampede at the Hajj last September.