Thursday, January 07, 2016

Saudi Arabia bombs Iranian embassy, Iran bans all products from Saudi

Saudi Arabia jets have bombed the Iranian embassy in Yemen in an air raid that wounded staff, Tehran claimed, on Thursday.

Warplanes struck the building as they pounded Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on Wednesday night, as tensions continued to mount between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman described the embassy strike as a "deliberate action" and a "violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions."

Hossein Jaber Ansari said: "The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured."

Coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on Wednesday night to target missile launchers used by the Houthi militia to fire at Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that the group has used civilian facilities including abandoned embassies.

Asseri said the coalition had requested all countries to supply it with coordinates of the location of their Diplomatic missions and that accusations made on the basis of information provided by the Houthis 'have no credibility'.

Often at loggerheads over regional issues, a full-blown split between Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-dominated Iran erupted at the weekend when Riyadh executed prominent Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr along with 46 others.

Nimr's death sparked demonstrations in many countries including Iran, where protesters stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran as well as the kingdom's consulate in second city Mashhad.

Riyadh cut ties with Tehran in response and was joined by some of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan.

The United Arab Emirates also downgraded relations with Iran while Kuwait and Qatar recalled their ambassadors.

A Saudi-led coalition has waged an air war on Iran-backed rebels in Yemen since March and the impoverished nation's conflict is one of the main sources of dispute between the two regional adversaries.

Also on Thursday, Iran banned all products from Saudi Arabia and said a ban on Iranians travelling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca for the umrah pilgrimage would remain in place 'until further notice.'

"The cabinet has banned the entry of all Saudi products and products from Saudi Arabia," a government statement said.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts by clicking on POST A COMMENT link or posting in FACEBOOK COMMENT BOX above:


DISCLAIMER:

Opinions expressed in comments are strictly those of the comment writers alone and does not reflect or represent the views of PoliFocus.

Calling the CONTACTS on the comments is at your own risk, PoliFocus is not liable for any SCAM that may arise in the course of that.