Saudi Arabia to halt flights, trade with Iran - minister
Saudi foreign minister says Tehran is responsible for rising tensions after the kingdom executed Shia cleric
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir attends an interview with Reuters, in Riyadh January 4, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia widened its rift with Iran on Monday, saying it would end air traffic and trade links with the Islamic republic and demanding that Tehran must "act like a normal country" before it would restore severed diplomatic relations.
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters in an interview that Tehran was responsible for rising tensions after the kingdom executed Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday, describing him as a terrorist.
Insisting Riyadh would react to "Iranian aggression", Jubeir accused Tehran of despatching fighters to Arab countries and plotting attacks inside the kingdom and its Gulf neighbours.
UAE, Bahrain cut ties with Iran after attacks on Saudi missions
"There is no escalation on the part of Saudi Arabia. Our moves are all reactive. It is the Iranians who went into Lebanon. It is the Iranians who sent their Qods Force and their Revolutionary Guards into Syria," he said.
The execution of Nimr provoked protests among Shias across the region and Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran, setting fires and causing damage, prompting Riyadh to cut ties and inflaming an already heated rivalry.
Iranian pilgrims would still be welcome to visit Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Madina in western Saudi Arabia, either for the annual Hajj or at other times of year on the Umrah pilgrimage, he said.
Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran: foreign minister
However, Jubeir said Saudi Arabia had been right to execute Nimr, whom he accused of "agitating, organising cells, providing them with weapons and money". After listing the crimes of 43 al Qaeda members also put to death on Saturday alongside four Shias, Jubeir said of the executions: "We should be applauded for this, not criticised."
Saudi Arabia widened its rift with Iran on Monday, saying it would end air traffic and trade links with the Islamic republic and demanding that Tehran must "act like a normal country" before it would restore severed diplomatic relations.
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters in an interview that Tehran was responsible for rising tensions after the kingdom executed Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday, describing him as a terrorist.
Insisting Riyadh would react to "Iranian aggression", Jubeir accused Tehran of despatching fighters to Arab countries and plotting attacks inside the kingdom and its Gulf neighbours.
UAE, Bahrain cut ties with Iran after attacks on Saudi missions
"There is no escalation on the part of Saudi Arabia. Our moves are all reactive. It is the Iranians who went into Lebanon. It is the Iranians who sent their Qods Force and their Revolutionary Guards into Syria," he said.
The execution of Nimr provoked protests among Shias across the region and Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran, setting fires and causing damage, prompting Riyadh to cut ties and inflaming an already heated rivalry.
Iranian pilgrims would still be welcome to visit Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Madina in western Saudi Arabia, either for the annual Hajj or at other times of year on the Umrah pilgrimage, he said.
Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran: foreign minister
However, Jubeir said Saudi Arabia had been right to execute Nimr, whom he accused of "agitating, organising cells, providing them with weapons and money". After listing the crimes of 43 al Qaeda members also put to death on Saturday alongside four Shias, Jubeir said of the executions: "We should be applauded for this, not criticised."