Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes against the Iranian embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, which it said has damaged its diplomatic building and left a number of guards wounded.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, was reported by the state television on Thursday as condemning what he called “a deliberate” provocation by Saudis as tensions rise between Tehran and Riyadh amid an escalating diplomatic crisis.
“This deliberate and intentional act by the Saudi Arabian government is in violation of all international conventions and legal treaties regarding the protection and impunity of diplomatic compounds under all circumstances,” Jaberi Ansari was quoted as saying by the website of the state-run IRIB network.
“Iran holds the government of Saudi Arabia responsible for this act and wounding of a number of embassy staff and damages made to its building.” The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has said it is investigating the Iranian accusation, which has not been independently verified. The Associated Press said its reporter in Sana’a had seen “no damage” at the Iranian embassy.
The strain on already-tense relations between Tehran and Riyadh was exacerbated at the weekend when Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shia cleric critical of the al-Saud kingdom, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
That execution drew worldwide condemnation, including from the UN chief. In Iran, a predominantly Shia country, hardliners showed their anger by storming the Saudi embassy in Tehran and setting it ablaze, which resulted in Riyadh and a number of its allies reacting by severing diplomatic ties with Tehran or downgrading relations.
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