IRAN: CUTTING TIES CANNOT COVER S ARABIA’S ‘BIG CRIME’

President Hassan Rouhani’s comments come as Kuwait recalls ambassador to Iran over attack on Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Iranian President Hassan Saudi criticised Saudi Arabia over the execution of Nimr al-Nimr
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran “cannot cover its crime” of executing prominent Shia religious leader Nimr al-Nimr.
Riyadh on Sunday severed relations with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was set ablaze during protests against Saudi Arabia’s execution of Nimr, who was put to death along with 46 other mostly Sunni convicts on terrorism charges.
“The Saudi government has taken a strange action and cut off its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran to cover its crimes,” Rouhani said on Tuesday in a meeting with Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen, reported by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
Allies back Saudi Arabia in showdown with Iran
“Undoubtedly, such actions can’t cover up that big crime,” he added.
Regional concerns
Rouhani’s comments are the latest in an escalating diplomatic row between regional heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia that has raised international concerns over peace efforts to end the wars in Syria and Yemen – the nations support opposite sides in the two conflicts.
The Saudi ambassador to the UN said on Monday, though, that the severing of the ties “should have no effect” on attempts to end to the wars.
“We will continue to work very hard towards supporting the peace efforts in Syria, in Yemen, wherever there might be a need for that,” Abdullah al-Mouallimi told reporters in New York