Saudi Regime Cut Ties with Iran to Toady to Israel: Syrian Analyst
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A prominent Syrian political analyst highlighted the objective behind Riyadh regime’s recent decision to sever diplomatic ties with Iran, saying that the Arab country sought to “ingratiate itself” with Israel by such a move.
“It is quite obvious that Saudi Arabia has made the move (severing ties with Iran) to ingratiate itself with Israel and not to serve the interests of its people,” Malaz Miqdad said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.
When a country cuts off its relations with another, it is actually depriving its people of a set of diplomatic and political opportunities, the analyst said.
He further emphasized that major Islamic countries are completely opposed to Riyadh’s move and that only a few unimportant countries in the international community joined Saudi Arabia to cut ties with the Islamic Republic.
Tensions ran high between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks mainly due to Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and a subsequent attack by outraged Iranian protesters on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, which resulted in the Arab country’s decision to sever its ties with the Islamic Republic.
On January 2, Saudi Arabia announced that it has executed Sheikh Nimr, among dozens of others. The execution ignited widespread international condemnation, from both political and religious figures.
The next day, 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.
