Iran: Saudi Arabia must choose between hatred or stability

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Shi’ite, Iran-allied Houthi movement in Yemen since March 2015.

Photo Credit:Reuters/Khaled Abdullah* More countries cut ties with Iran * Tehran bans imports of all Saudi products * Iran says its Yemen embassy bombed * Witnesses in Sanaa see no damage to embassy By Katie Paul DUBAI, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated even further on Thursday as Tehran severed all commercial ties with Riyadh and accused Saudi jets of attacking its embassy in Yemen’s capital.

Thousands of worshippers who took part in Friday prayers in Tehran joined the rally, carrying pictures of al-Nimr and chanting “Death to Al Saud”, referencing the kingdom’s royal family.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers fully backed Saudi Arabia’s actions to fight terrorism and bringing to justice those who commit or sponsor acts of terrorism in a statement issued today after an extraordinary meeting of the GCC Ministerial Council.

Zarif said that from the first days of President Hassan Rouhani’s election in June 2013, both he and the president have sent public and private signals to Saudi Arabia “about our readiness to engage in dialogue and accommodation to promote regional stability and combat destabilizing extremist violence”.

Saudi Arabia has shown that it will move against extremist groups: It executed dozens of al-Qaeda members alongside Nimr, and it announced last month an Islamic coalition against terrorism.

“It was stressed to the ambassador that the attacks on Saudi Arabian embassy and consulate in Tehran and Meshed were completely unacceptable and inexplicable”, the statement read.

The parliament called on the Arab League’s Council to take a tough stance on Iran during its coming emergency ministerial meeting, KUNA reported.

Iran on Thursday said the warplanes had attacked the building on Wednesday night, an allegation that has heightened tensions between the regional powers.

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.

They also carried posters of the executed sheikh, Nimr al-Nimr. The demonstration descended into violence with police firing tear gas and birdshot while protesters threw Molotov cocktails as they tried to reach a main highway. Besides import ban, the Iranian cabinet also reaffirmed a ban on pilgrims travelling to Mecca for Umrah haj.