Saudi cuts ties with Iran/UAE summons Iranian ambassador/Saudi Council of Senior Scholars condemns Iranian remarks/Gulf states back Saudi in its fight against terrorism

Saudi cuts ties with Iran, expels Tehran envoys
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Monday, 4 January/2016/Saudi Arabia announced late Sunday that it would officially sever ties with Iran after having two of its diplomatic posts attacked in the Islamic republic. Saudi’s Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir, speaking in an address aired by Al Arabiya News Channel, said Iran’s diplomatic mission staff and related structures in Saudi Arabia had been given 48 hours to leave. He also accused Iran of having a long-track record of violating diplomatic missions, and called Tehran a regional menace for its smuggling of arms and explosives and its harboring of Al-Qaeda militants since 2001. Jubeir’s announcement comes after demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday in protest against Riyadh’s executions of 47 people convicted of terrorism, which include Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr and al-Qaeda ideologue Fares al-Shuwail. The demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy building in the Iranian capital, smashed furniture and started fires before being ejected by police. No Saudi embassy staff were in the building at the time. A copycat protest at the Saudi consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad broke out on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jubeir said Riyadh is vigilant over Iranian threats against Saudi diplomats in Baghdad. On Friday, Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Baghdad after a 25-year pause, giving way to more cooperation between the two countries on tackling terrorism. The foreign minister vowed that Riyadh will not allow Tehran to sabotage Saudi or the region’s security.
While Tehran lashed out at Riyadh for Nimr’s execution, the Gulf states, the Arab League, and the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars all condemned the attacks and Iranian interference in the region. Before Jubeir’s address, a Saudi foreign ministry spokesman said Iran had not stopped protesters storming its consulate in Mashhad. The spokesman said Riyadh had reported the attacks on diplomatic missions in Iran to the U.N. Security Council. After departing Iran, the Saudi diplomatic mission staff arrived in Dubai late on Sunday, the minister said.

UAE summons Iranian ambassador after Saudi embassy attack
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Sunday, 3 January 2016/The UAE on Sunday summoned Iran’s ambassador after attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic republic, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported. Demonstrators targeted the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday, in protest against Riyadh’s executions of 47 terrorism convicts, which include Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr and al-Qaeda ideologue Fares al-Shuwail. The demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy building in the Iranian capital, smashed furniture and started fires before being ejected by police. No Saudi embassy staff were in the building at the time. A copycat protest at the Saudi consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad broke out on Sunday. “These acts represent a violation of international charters and norms,” the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. WAM also said the UAE gave Iran’s Ambassador the UAE Mohammed Reza Fayyad a written protest note over Tehran’s “intervention in the sovereign affairs of the fraternal country of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”Gulf states – especially Bahrain – have long accused Tehran of intervening in their national affairs. On Sunday, the six-member regional Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc expressed support for Saudi’s ongoing fight against “terrorism.”

Saudi Council of Senior Scholars condemns Iranian remarks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Sunday, 3 January 2016/The Saudi Council of Senior Scholars condemned on Sunday Iranian statements made in response to Saturday’s execution of 47 convicted terrorists, among them prominent Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr. The Council, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, also “affirmed that the implementation of judicial rulings against criminals has been proven legally.”The execution of Nimr was criticized by Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a prominent Iranian cleric and a member of the Assembly of Experts, who predicted repercussions following the preacher’s execution. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari also strongly condemned Riyadh for executing Nimr in statements carried by the official IRNA news agency. Parliament speaker Ali Larijani also condemned Nimr’s death. In October 2014, Nimr’s death sentence was confirmed after he had been found guilty of seeking “foreign meddling” in the kingdom, among other charges. Meanwhile, protesters early Sunday afternoon stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran which led to images showing the diplomatic premises being set alight. Saudi Arabia summoned Iran’s ambassador on Saturday over what it described as Tehran’s “hostile” reaction to the executions, the state news agency SPA reported. The foreign ministry statement, published on the official SPA news agency, said the kingdom handed the Iranian envoy a “strongly worded memorandum” to express “the kingdom’s astonishment and its utter rejection of these hostile statements, which it deemed a blatant intervention in the kingdom’s affairs.”Of the 47 executed, 45 were Saudis, as well as one Chadian and one Egyptian, according to a list of names and nationalities published by SPA.Among the convicts were Fares al-Shuwail, said to be an al-Qaeda ideologue.
Meanwhile, Al-Azhar, which is one of the leading centers of Islamic learning, also said on Sunday that it stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia and rejects Iranian interference.

Gulf states back Saudi in its fight against ‘terrorism’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Sunday, 3 January 2016/The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League on Sunday expressed support for Saudi Arabia’s ongoing fight against “terrorism.”The six-member regional bloc’s secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani said that the GCC, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi, “stands side by side” with Riyadh, holding Iran as responsible. His remarks came after Tehran lashed out at Riyadh for the executions of 47 people, include Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr and al-Qaeda ideologue Fares al-Shuwail . Early Sunday, Saudi’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad were attacked by Iranian protesters in reaction to Nimr’s death. The Gulf states – especially Bahrain – have long-accused Tehran of meddling in their affairs. The Arab League later on Sunday also announced its support to Saudi Arabia in its attempt to combat terrorism, its secretary general said. Nabil al-Arabi also denounced attacks on the Saudi embassy and consulate in Iran, describing the incidents as flagrant violation of international principles and denounced Iran’s interference in the region. Kuwait on Sunday also expressed its backing of Saudi measures aimed at safeguarding the kingdom’s national security. Meanwhile, Jordan condemned the storming of the Saudi embassy and consulate by Iranian protestors, calling the act a “flagrant violation of international law,” the official Saudi Press Agency quoted a Jordanian minister as saying. The country’s minister of state for media affairs said Jordan stands in solidarity with Saudi against extremism and terrorism, denouncing Iranian interference. However, the European Union’s foreign policy chief warned Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday that renewed tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia could wreck efforts to find a political solution for the crisis in Syria, according to Reuters. Federica Mogherini said in a statement that she had spoken by telephone with Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, at length on Sunday morning after violence erupted in Iran following Saudi Arabia’s execution of the Shiite preacher. Mogherini said that she had been informed of the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran by protesters and of steps taken by the Iranian authorities to defuse tensions and protect the Saudi diplomats.