Saudi coalition denies bombing Iran Embassy in Sanaa

Iran says Saudi warplanes have attacked its embassy in Yemen’s capital, a development that would exacerbate tensions between the major Shiite and Sunni powers in the region.

The Saudi-led forces will investigate the accusations, coalition spokesman Brig.

However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no visible damage at the building.

The coalition spokesperson said there had been airstrikes against Houthi targets in the Yemeni capital and accused the rebels of occupying civilian buildings and deserted embassies there.

Iranian protesters set fires at the Saudi embassy in Tehran following the execution of Sheik Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric whose death sparked an outcry across much of the Shiite Muslim world.

Iranian embassy in Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have long vied for influence in the Middle East. Their rivalry deepened following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the chaos of the Arab Spring, which gave rise to proxy wars in Syria and Yemen.

“Saudi Arabia has moved against our efforts and, unfortunately, they opposed the nuclear agreement”, Zarif said.

On Thursday, Iran’s government banned all imports of products made in Saudi Arabia, Iranian student news agency ISNA reported.

Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which groups Sunni Arab monarchies, expressed their “total support” Saturday for Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic row with predominantly Shiite Iran.

Iranian diplomats have left Saudi Arabia after the kingdom severed all ties with Tehran following attacks on its mission in the Islamic republic, Saudi state media said today. It said the decision came during an emergency meeting of the cabinet of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who leads his divided country with a Shia-dominated govenrment, has expressed “intense shock” at the execution of Nimr, condemning it as human rights violation.