Iran: A tale of a bad neighbor
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/January 06/16
Saudi Arabia has been the target of Ayatollah Khomeini’s antagonism since 1979, when Khomeini’s mullahs took over the Iranian state. This can be seen through the principles of Khomeini’s followers; they are the “supporters of God” (Ansarullah), the “party of God” (Hezbollah), the “hand of God,” and “under the command of God.” These are all well-known names and phrases related to Iranian activities. The following is a list of events detailing Iranian attacks against Saudi Arabia since 1979:
Incidents throughout the 1980s:
• A group of Iranians protested in front of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina and raised photos of Khomeini.
• 21 Iranian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia armed with weapons and explosives were detained.
• Iranian demonstrators in Tehran stormed the Saudi and Kuwaiti embassies and set them on fire, attacking and detaining Saudi diplomat Reda al-Nuzha.
• Militant group Hezbollah al-Hejaz, which is loyal to Iran, set fire to an oil installation in Ras Tanura in eastern Saudi Arabia.
• Hezbollah al-Hejaz attacked the at the Sadaf petrochemical plant in the industrial city of Jubail, also in eastern Saudi Arabia.
June 1996:
• Hezbollah al-Hejaz blows up a residential compound in Khobar, eastern Saudi Arabia, and Ahmed al-Mughassil, the cell’s leader and the mastermind of the attack, flees to Iran.
August 2009:
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launch flagrant media attacks against Riyadh due to Saudi Arabia’s confrontation of Houthi aggressors on its borders.
March 2011:
• Iran’s supreme leader uses inciting religious rhetoric to attack Saudi Arabia after Peninsula Shield forces entered Bahrain, upon Manama’s request, to deter an Iranian coup attempt under the ruse of the Arab Spring.
April 2015:
• Khamanei escalates his political religious speeches against Saudi Arabia after Riyadh launched “Operation Decisive Storm” against Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen.
January 2016:
• Agents of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards attack the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashhad and set them on fire. This came after Iranian regime symbols threatened the kingdom over its execution of preacher Nimr al-Nimr, leader of the Awamiyah militia in eastern Saudi Arabia, and ignored the fact that 40 al-Qaeda members were executed alongside him.
This is a summary of decades in relations with the Iranian regime, a bad neighbor. The Saudi response came in two days and it was as such: Cutting diplomatic ties with Iran, expelling Iran’s diplomatic mission from Saudi Arabia, suspending flights to Iran, suspending all forms of trade with Iran and banning Saudis from traveling to Iran.
Saudi Arabia still has many responses to direct towards Iran’s insolence.
A tense relationship with neighbors is not something wished upon by anyone. Any reasonable person should be keen to find a means of cooperation with their neighbors. But what can done with a neighbor who “believes” abusing you is a duty they must uphold?
It is now time for Saudi Arabia to respond.
Iran Warns Saudi to Stop ‘Adding Fuel to Fire’
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 06/16/Iran warned Saudi Arabia to stop working against it on Wednesday as their diplomatic crisis intensified despite efforts to defuse a row that has raised fears of regional instability. In the latest salvo in a dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia and some of its Sunni Arab allies cut ties with Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Riyadh must end its prolonged efforts to confront Iran. “For the past two-and-a-half years, Saudi Arabia has opposed Iran’s diplomacy,” Zarif said at a joint press conference in Tehran with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
“Saudi Arabia has moved against our efforts and, unfortunately, they opposed the nuclear agreement,” Zarif said. “This trend of creating tension must stop. We need to stand united… and stop those who are adding fuel to the fire.” The spike in tensions comes after Iran last year secured a historic nuclear deal with world powers led by the United States, causing major concern in longtime U.S. ally Riyadh. The row between Saudi Arabia, the main Sunni power, and Shiite-dominated Iran erupted following Riyadh’s execution on Saturday of prominent Shiite cleric and activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.His death sparked Shiite demonstrations in many countries including Iran, where protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the kingdom’s consulate in second city Mashhad. Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in response and was joined by several of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan. The United Arab Emirates also downgraded relations with Iran and Kuwait recalled its ambassador. The row has raised fears of an increase in sectarian tensions in the Middle East that could derail efforts to resolve pressing issues including the wars in Syria and Yemen. The United Nations and Western governments have expressed deep concern, urging both sides to reduce tensions. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has made repeated calls to both Iranian and Saudi leaders.
“He is urging calm. He is stressing the need for dialogue and engagement, and thirdly, reminding that, again, there’s lots of work to be done in the region,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “It’s important to work through that tension, work through those disagreements, so that we can all work harder together on other issues which are affecting the Middle East writ large,” he said. Cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iran is crucial in resolving a range of issues in the Middle East, where they are often on opposing sides. In Syria, Iran is supporting the government of President Bashar Assad against rebel groups, some backed by Saudi Arabia. In Yemen, Riyadh is leading a military intervention against Iran-backed Shiite rebels who have seized control of large parts of the country. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also been in touch with Saudi and Iranian leaders to urge calm, and the Security Council has condemned the attack on Riyadh’s diplomatic missions. On Tuesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani accused Saudi Arabia of focusing attention on the incident to “cover its crime” of executing Nimr. “We have never sought to create tension. We have always adopted a policy of interaction and dialogue,” Zarif said, reiterating that the violent scenes at the embassy were “not justified”.”All Iranian officials condemn it,” he added.This week has seen several sectarian attacks in Iraq as the row escalated, including the bombings of two Sunni mosques, raising fears the country could plunge back into all-out civil conflict. “Some people want to create the spark that will reignite war among Iraqis and we must stop them because such acts only serve the enemies of Iraq,” said Mohammed Abdelfattah, a Sunni cleric from the Iraqi town of Hilla where several attacks have taken place. Shiite-majority Iraq has close ties with Tehran. Jaafari, who was to hold talks later with Rouhani, said Iraq was seeking a potential diplomatic role to help resolve the crisis and echoed the concerns about sectarianism. “I have spoken to the foreign ministers of some of the Arab countries to reduce the consequences of this issue and prevent enemies from dragging the region into a war that can have no winners,” Jaafari said. Media reports said his counterpart from Oman, which has often played a mediating role in the region, was also expected in the Iranian capital on Wednesday.
Oman’s foreign ministry on Wednesday expressed its “deep regret” over the embassy attack but the country did not announce any measures against Iran. Nimr, one of 47 men executed on Saturday, was a driving force behind 2011 anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.He was arrested in 2012 after calling for two Saudi governorates to be separated from the kingdom.
