The Obama administration responded cautiously Monday to growing friction between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as regional tensions continued to soar around the Sunni kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and the subsequent sacking of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
“We call on all sides to avoid any actions that would further heighten tensions in the region,” said State Department spokesman John Kirby, amid reports that several predominantly Sunni Muslim nations were aligning with Riyadh by severing or downgrading diplomatic ties with the Shiite government Iran.
Saudi Arabia cut its own diplomatic relations with Iran on Sunday after demonstrators stormed and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in protest over Riyadh’s execution a day earlier of Shiite Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
The mass execution of Sheikh al-Nimr and 46 others — the largest carried out by Saudi Arabia in 3 decades — has laid bare the divisions gripping the Middle East, where demonstrators took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan in protest.
The Associated Press reported that the recent friction illustrate Saudi Arabia’s aggressiveness under King Salman. During his reign, which began in early-2015, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen and staunchly opposed Iran.
But tensions between the region’s Sunni Arab powers and Iran have also soared since international powers reached the Obama administration-backed nuclear deal with Tehran. Some in the region saw the development as a precarious shift by the administration, which has shown unprecedented openness to working with Iran, despite simultaneously seeking to keep up its long-time alliance with Riyadh.
Mr. Kirby criticized both Saudi Arabia and Iran on Monday.
“Regarding the executions in Saudi Arabia, we continue to urge the government of Saudi Arabia to ensure fair and transparent judicial proceedings in all cases, and we have expressed our particular concern over the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr,” he said.
“We also condemn the attacks on Saudi diplomatic properties in Iran,” Mr. Kirby added. “We take attacks on diplomatic facilities, as you might imagine, very seriously. We note reports that some of the perpetrators of these attacks have been arrested, and we urge the government of Iran to fully respect its international obligations to protect diplomatic property.
“On the severing of diplomatic ties, we continue to believe that diplomatic engagement and direct conversations are essential to work through differences,” he added. “Increased frictions runs counter to the interests of all those in the international community who support moderation, peace and stability. We reiterate the need for leaders throughout the region to re-double efforts aimed at deescalating regional tensions.”
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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