Saudi Arabia cuts diplomatic ties with Iran - Rawan For Media Artistic and Production
Saudi
Arabia has announced it is severing diplomatic ties with Iran following
Saturday's attack on its embassy in Tehran during protests against
executions in the kingdom.
Adel
al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, made the announcement on Sunday
while the foreign ministry said it was asking Iranian diplomatic mission
to leave the kingdom within 48 hours.
The
Saudi foreign ministry also announced that the staff of its diplomatic
mission had been evacuated and were on their way back to the kingdom.
Analysis: Saudi Arabia and Iran relations
Later reports said the flight carrying the Saudi embassy staff had landed in Dubai in the UAE.
Saudi
Arabia's interior ministry announced on Saturday the execution of 47
people on terrorism charges, including a convicted al-Qaeda leader and a
Shia religious leader.
Many of the men executed had been linked to attacks in Saudi Arabia between 2003 and 2006, blamed on al-Qaeda.
READ MORE: The oil price, Iran and Saudi's economy
Four of those executed were said to be Shia.
Nimr
al-Nimr, the Shia leader, was accused of inciting violence and leading
anti-government protests in the country's east in 2011. He was convicted
of sedition, disobedience and bearing arms.
He did not deny the political charges against him, but said he never carried weapons or called for violence.
Nimr spent more than a decade studying theology in predominantly Shia Iran.
His
execution prompted demonstrations in a number of countries, with
protesters breaking into the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday
night and starting fires.
Inside Story - Stern message from Saudi Arabia
At
Sunday's press conference in Riyadh, Jubeir said the Saudi diplomatic
representative had sought help from the Iranian foreign ministry when
the building was stormed, but the requests were ignored three times.
He
accused the Iranian authorities of being complicit in the attack,
saying that documents and computers were taken from the embassy
building.
Calling
the incident an act of "aggression", he said Iran had a history of
"violating diplomatic missions", citing the attacks on the US embassy in
Tehran in 1979 and the British embassy in 2011.
"These
ongoing aggressions against diplomatic missions are a violation of all
agreements and international conventions," he said, calling them part of
an effort by Iran to "destabilise" the region.
Speaking
to Al Jazeera from Beirut, Lebanon, Joseph Kechichian, a Middle East
analyst, said the Saudi decision was "quite a surprise".
"This is an escalation that will create havoc in the region," he said, referring to the latest developments.
Iranian action
Earlier
on Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the arrest and
prosecution of individuals involved in the embassy attack, while also
condemning the execution of Nimr.
Asked
at the press conference what other steps the Saudis would take against
Iran, Jubeir said "we will cross each bridge when we will get to it".
"We are determined not to allow Iran to undermine our security," he said.
Ellie
Geranmayeh, an Iran expert at the European Council on Foreign
Relations, said the Saudi decision was likely to have repercussions for
the region, particularly concerning the Syrian negotiations.
"Western
powers must increase efforts to safeguard this process and encourage
the Saudis and Iran to continue their participation [in the Syria peace
talks]," she told Al Jazeera from London.
"These
events further set back the urgently needed rapprochement between
Tehran and Riyadh, and spell further trouble for an already fragile
region."
The diplomatic spat follows executions in Saudi Arabia of 47 people accused of inciting violence and carrying out attacks [EPA]
Source: Al Jazeera
Iranian diplomatic mission asked to leave the kingdom within 48 hours as Saudis evacuate embassy staff from Tehran.
Saudi
Arabia has announced it is severing diplomatic ties with Iran following
Saturday's attack on its embassy in Tehran during protests against
executions in the kingdom.
Adel
al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, made the announcement on Sunday
while the foreign ministry said it was asking Iranian diplomatic mission
to leave the kingdom within 48 hours.
The
Saudi foreign ministry also announced that the staff of its diplomatic
mission had been evacuated and were on their way back to the kingdom.
Analysis: Saudi Arabia and Iran relations
Later reports said the flight carrying the Saudi embassy staff had landed in Dubai in the UAE.
Saudi
Arabia's interior ministry announced on Saturday the execution of 47
people on terrorism charges, including a convicted al-Qaeda leader and a
Shia religious leader.
Many of the men executed had been linked to attacks in Saudi Arabia between 2003 and 2006, blamed on al-Qaeda.
READ MORE: The oil price, Iran and Saudi's economy
Four of those executed were said to be Shia.
Nimr
al-Nimr, the Shia leader, was accused of inciting violence and leading
anti-government protests in the country's east in 2011. He was convicted
of sedition, disobedience and bearing arms.
He did not deny the political charges against him, but said he never carried weapons or called for violence.
Nimr spent more than a decade studying theology in predominantly Shia Iran.
His
execution prompted demonstrations in a number of countries, with
protesters breaking into the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday
night and starting fires.
Inside Story - Stern message from Saudi Arabia
At
Sunday's press conference in Riyadh, Jubeir said the Saudi diplomatic
representative had sought help from the Iranian foreign ministry when
the building was stormed, but the requests were ignored three times.
He
accused the Iranian authorities of being complicit in the attack,
saying that documents and computers were taken from the embassy
building.
Calling
the incident an act of "aggression", he said Iran had a history of
"violating diplomatic missions", citing the attacks on the US embassy in
Tehran in 1979 and the British embassy in 2011.
"These
ongoing aggressions against diplomatic missions are a violation of all
agreements and international conventions," he said, calling them part of
an effort by Iran to "destabilise" the region.
Speaking
to Al Jazeera from Beirut, Lebanon, Joseph Kechichian, a Middle East
analyst, said the Saudi decision was "quite a surprise".
"This is an escalation that will create havoc in the region," he said, referring to the latest developments.
Iranian action
Earlier
on Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the arrest and
prosecution of individuals involved in the embassy attack, while also
condemning the execution of Nimr.
Asked
at the press conference what other steps the Saudis would take against
Iran, Jubeir said "we will cross each bridge when we will get to it".
"We are determined not to allow Iran to undermine our security," he said.
Ellie
Geranmayeh, an Iran expert at the European Council on Foreign
Relations, said the Saudi decision was likely to have repercussions for
the region, particularly concerning the Syrian negotiations.
"Western
powers must increase efforts to safeguard this process and encourage
the Saudis and Iran to continue their participation [in the Syria peace
talks]," she told Al Jazeera from London.
"These
events further set back the urgently needed rapprochement between
Tehran and Riyadh, and spell further trouble for an already fragile
region."
The diplomatic spat follows executions in Saudi Arabia of 47 people accused of inciting violence and carrying out attacks [EPA]
Source: Al Jazeera
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