Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Saudi - Iranian Tension Escalates

posted by martyb on Tuesday January 05 2016, @10:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the when-elephants-argue-it-is-hard-on-the-ants dept.

CortoMaltese writes:

Protest in Tehran after Saudis execute Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr

CNN:

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it had executed 47 people in a single day, including a dissident Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, who had repeatedly spoken out against the government and the Saudi royal family.

Nimr had been convicted of inciting sectarian strife, sedition and other charges following his 2012 arrest.

Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival, summoned the Saudi ambassador in Tehran to condemn the execution, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The Shiite-majority nation issued a statement deploring the execution and warning that Saudi Arabia would pay a heavy price for its policies.

Iranian Protesters Ransack Saudi Embassy After Execution of Shiite Cleric

NYT:

Iranian protesters ransacked and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran on Saturday after Saudi Arabia executed an outspoken Shiite cleric who had criticized the kingdom's treatment of its Shiite minority.

The executions coincided with increased attacks in Saudi Arabia by the jihadists of the Islamic State and an escalating rivalry between the Sunni monarchy and Shiite Iran that is playing out in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. Sheikh Nimr was an outspoken critic of the Saudi monarchy and was adopted as a symbolic leader by Shiite protesters in several Persian Gulf countries during the Arab Spring uprisings.

[More after the break.]

Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Iran as row over cleric's death escalates

Reuters:

Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran on Sunday, responding to the storming of its embassy in Tehran in an escalating row between the rival Middle East powers over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric.

Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a news conference in Riyadh that the envoy of Shi'ite Iran had been asked to quit Saudi Arabia within 48 hours. The kingdom, he said, would not allow the Islamic republic to undermine its security.

Jubeir said the attack in Tehran was in line with what he said were earlier Iranian assaults on foreign embassies there and with Iranian policies of destabilizing the region by creating "terrorist cells" in Saudi Arabia.Speaking on Iranian state television, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in Tehran's first response that by cutting diplomatic ties, Riyadh could not cover up "its major mistake of executing Sheikh Nimr".

The United States, Saudi Arabia's biggest backer in the West, responded by encouraging diplomatic engagement and calling for leaders in the region to take "affirmative steps" to reduce tensions

So what do you think; Is this another normal spat between regional leaders looking for their interest on the region, or a signal of worse things to come?

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Saudi - Iranian Tension Escalates | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 46 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday January 05 2016, @11:31PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday January 05 2016, @11:31PM (#285381) Journal

    Troubles Are Up In The Middle East, But Oil Prices Are Down. Huh? [npr.org]

    But in recent days, even as tensions have been growing between two key oil producing nations — Iran and Saudi Arabia — oil prices have been falling. They slipped below $36 a barrel on Tuesday.

    Why?

    Experts explain it this way: the two countries are both in OPEC, but now are on such bad terms that they'd be unlikely to agree on anything – including a plan to reduce drilling. OPEC members are supposed to reach a consensus before changing production policies – and right now, the OPEC policy is to maintain existing high levels of pumping.

    "If they can't agree on an output level and some way to control prices, then everybody will just keep all-out pumping and try to raise as much money as possible for their countries," said Daniel Katzenberg, senior energy analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co.

    And there's another big reason for the low global oil prices: America's abundant supplies.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Interesting=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   3  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2016, @04:49AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2016, @04:49AM (#285501)

    That's only until the oil can be delivered from over there. Once it's hot, forgetaboutit.