Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of attacking its embassy in Yemen

Iran’s government accused Saudi Arabia of “intentionally” striking its embassy in Yemen, CNN reported.

“Saudi Arabia is responsible for this action, as well as for compensating Iran for injuries to the embassy personnel and the damages to the embassy building,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari on Thursday, according to state-run IRIB News. “… Iran reserves the right to (legally) pursue this matter.”

According to Ansari, the Iranian Embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, was damaged and several guards were injured in the late Wednesday airstrike.

“This is not credible because we have not seen any evidence,” Asseri said. “But we will investigate.”

The Sanaa airstrike, and the war of words that followed, come on the heels of Saturday’s mass execution in Saudi Arabia of 47 people, among them prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, on terrorism charges.

This act spurred anger in Iran, where protests quickly broke out. The Saudi Embassy in Tehran was attacked and set on fire, prompting Saudi leaders to sever diplomatic ties with Iran.

Several other nations have sided with Riyadh in this growing conflict, including Bahrain and Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, both of which recalled their ambassadors to Iran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday lashed out at Saudi Arabia for cutting ties in response to an angry reaction that he called “only natural.”

“Of course, the Saudi government, in order to cover up its crime of beheading a religious leader has resorted to a strange measure and has severed its ties with the Islamic Republic,” Rouhani said during a meeting with Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen in Tehran

“Undoubtedly, such moves will never hide that great crime,” Rouhani added, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV.

The Iranian Cabinet passed a measure banning the import of all products from Saudi Arabia and prohibiting Iranians from making pilgrimages to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, the semiofficial Tasneem news agency reported. Millions make pilgrimages each year to those two Saudi cities in rites of passage for Muslims worldwide.

While Nimr’s execution may have been the tipping point, it’s far from the lone source of tension between Tehran and Riyadh.

Iran to protest Saudi bombing of Yemen embassy to Security Council

Iran said it would protest to the United Nations Security Council after it accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately bombing its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

“During an air raid by Saudi Arabia against Sanaa, a rocket fell near our embassy and unfortunately one of our guards was seriously wounded,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said.

“We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack within several hours,” he said.

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