Diplomacy Realm of the Mature, Iran’s FM Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday that the domain of diplomacy is no place for the immature and arrogant nouveau-riche.
“Diplomacy is the domain of the mature; not arrogant nouveau-riche,” the Iranian foreign minister said in a post in his Twitter account.
He did not indicate who he was referring to, but the message seems to be addressed at recent remarks by certain Arab officials after escalation of tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia caused by Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and their subsequent severance of ties with Tehran.
On January 2, Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr, among dozens of others. The execution ignited widespread international condemnation, from both political and religious figures.
On January 3, furious demonstrators in the Iranian cities of Tehran and Mashhad stormed Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic buildings in protest at the execution of Sheikh Nimr.
Although Iranian officials criticized the embassy attack and police arrested dozens involved, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic.
