Somalia Severs Ties with Iran

Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said a rocket had fallen near the embassy, but on Thursday the building was still standing and there were no visible signs of damage.

Regarding the recent attacks on the Saudi diplomatic missions, he said, the government “unequivocally condemned” the violence and took immediate steps to protect the buildings and diplomats, and expressed its determination to bring the perpetrators to justice and launched an investigation.

“We strongly condemn our president being directly targeted in certain articles in Iranian outlets controlled by the Iranian authorities… and demand that these articles cease immediately”, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

In a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon published by Iranian news agencies earlier on Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif complained about Saudi Arabia’s “provocations” towards Tehran.

“Saudi Arabia is responsible for the security of our diplomats and of our embassy in Sanaa”, he said.

Iran warned Saudi Arabia Wednesday to stop working against it as their diplomatic crisis intensified despite efforts to defuse a row that has raised fears of greater regional instability.

Bahrain followed the lead of its close ally Saudi Arabia in severing ties to Iran and canceling flights this week in response to protester attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. So far, Sudan, Bahrain, and Somalia have also cut diplomatic ties with Iran in an expansion of tensions throughout the region. The United Arab Emirates also officially downgraded its diplomatic relations with Iran. Al-Nimr has already been buried but his supporters have reportedly planned a symbolic funeral for today.

Shiite-dominated Iran also announced a ban on imports from its Sunni-ruled rival.

His death touched off anti-Saudi demonstrations elsewhere in the Shiite world, including the attacks in Iran. Pakistan, which is a predominantly Sunni Muslim state but has a large Shiite minority, has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran will be able to normalise their relations.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been fighting a proxy war in Yemen for nine months, with Riyadh leading bombing raids against Iran-backed rebels who forced the country’s internationally-recognised president into exile in March previous year.

Asked about the possibility of war, Prince Mohammed said: “It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind”.