Prelude to Mid East War? Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran
The conflict between the two great factions of Islam is coming to a dangerous climax. Sunni-power Saudi Arabia has severed diplomatic ties with Shiite-power Iran after Angry Iranian protestors stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran early Sunday morning after the government of Saudi Arabia executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, along with 46 others, on charges of terrorism. Al-Nimr’s death sparked Shiite led protests across the Middle East on Sunday.
Tensions come at a time when Saudi Arabia and Iran are engaged in proxy wars: In Yemen and in Syria. Saudi Arabia is warring against Yemen rebel forces allied with Iran while Iran has entered the Syrian war against Syrian rebel forces allied with Saudi Arabia.
As reported in Israel Breaking News, Iran has issued threats of retaliation against Saudi Arabia:
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said that the execution of al-Nimr was a “big mistake” and that the Saudi’s would pay for their actions.
“By deciding to sever (diplomatic) relations, Saudi Arabia cannot make (the world) forget its big mistake of executing a cleric,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency.
Abdollahian added that Saudi Arabia had committed a “strategic error in adopting rash and hasty decisions that have spread instability and caused the development of terrorism in the region.”
The deputy foreign minister blamed the Saudis for “undermining the interests of its own people and the Muslim people of the region with its plot to bring down oil prices,” which have hit new lows.
Iran is an ally of Russia and China and Saudi Arabia is an ally of the U.S. (both are pillars of the Petro-Dollar complex) although relations have been recently strained between both countries - Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran against U.S. advice.
To Learn more about this topic, check out ETW's Strategic Trends Page under Mid East Conflicts
