Tri-lingual Tourism Book on Pakistan to Sri Lankan Premier Ranil Wickramsinghe at Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka on Monday.
ABU DHABI/MANAMA/ KHARTOUM, January 4: The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan on Monday decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with Iran.
According to UAE state news agency WAM, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday decided to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Iran and reduce the number of Iranian diplomats in the country, UAE state news agency WAM reported.
The UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it has recalled its ambassador to Iran Saif Al Zaabi in support for Saudi Arabia in its row with Tehran over the execution of a Shiite cleric.
This step was taken “in the light of continued Iranian intervention in the internal affairs of the Gulf and the Arab world” that has recently reached unprecedented levels, the statement said. It said that the natural and positive relations among nations should be based on mutual respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.
On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and 46 other men were executed on terror charges. Earlier in the day, Bahrain, a key Saudi ally, said it followed Riyadh to cut its diplomatic ties with Iran and gave all Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.
According to Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Bahrain said on Monday it was severing diplomatic relations with Iran, a day after Saudi Arabia cut ties with Tehran amid outrage over the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric.
“Bahrain has decided to end diplomatic relations with Iran because of its continuous interference in the affairs of the kingdom, and also of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council),” BNA quoted a statement as saying.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia cut off its diplomatic relations with Iran after angry protesters stormed its embassy in Tehran to protest at the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir accused the Iranian authorities of not taking any measure to prevent the attacks against the embassy in Tehran and the consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad.
On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that al-Nimr and 46 other men were executed on terror charges. The executions triggered angry protests outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday by Iranians who condemned the execution of Nimr.
Most of the executed were Saudis who were involved in a series of attacks carried out by al-Qaida from 2003-06. Nimr was seen as a driving force behind anti-government protests that broke out in the country in 2011.
Meanwhile, Sudan on Monday decided to expel the Iranian ambassador, hours after Bahrain cut its ties with the Islamic republic amid a row over the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric, a Sudanese presidential official was quoted by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying.
The Saudi side was informed of the Sudanese decision in a phone call from Sudan’s Minister of State and Director of the President’s Office Taha Osman al-Hussein with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. Sudan also decided to expel the whole Iranian diplomatic mission and withdraw its envoy from Tehran.
In the call, the Sudanese official stressed his country’s condemnation of the Iranian interference in the Arab region and inaction to protect the Saudi Embassy and Consulate in Iran. Sudan’s decision to cut the relations with Iran was preceded by a similar action from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
