There has been a major storm brewing between Saudi Arabia and Iran ever since Saudi Arabia made the decision to execute a dissident Shiite cleric. Iraq has offered to step in and try its best to end this war, as it might have a sour aftereffect. Iraq’s foreign minister, Ibrahim al-Jafari, declared on Wednesday that “we need to stop the escalations.”
Minister Ibrahim was not shy to express his feelings at the news conference held in Tehran. According to the minister, Iraq is worried that this ongoing bad blood between the Sunni monarchy of Saudi Arabia and Shiite government of Iran could result in an increased sectarian tension in Iraq. The minister also made the point that the two countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran, need each other now more than ever, as the Iraq government is relying on both the Sunni and Shiite parties to join forces and fight the Islamic State.
According to the BBC transcripts containing his remarks, minister Ibrahim said, “We need to stop the escalations of this problem and not allow enemies of the region and enemies of the Islam to lead the region to a war in which everyone would lose.”
This tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran seems unlikely to end anytime soon, as the situation seemed to be getting worse on Wednesday when officials of both countries were seen exchanging insults. In regards to this exchange of words, it is quite evident that minister al-Jafari’s fear of tension in the region is justified.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Minister Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Arabia foreign minister, blatantly rebuked Iran, stating all the atrocities the Iran government was responsible for. He was not holding back on his thoughts when he made mention of the fact that the Iran government was responsible for the heightening of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani was not about to sit by idly and watch Saudi Arabia make nasty actions and comments about the state. In response, he took to Twitter to convey his own perspective, condemning the actions made by Iran protesters on Saudi diplomatic facilities after the execution of the Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr. That did not stop him from slamming Saudi Arabia, stating that the country loves to favor “chaos” in the region, and that the execution of Sheikh Nimr was nothing but an act made by Saudi Arabia to “cover up its domestic problems and failed regional policies.”
President Rouhani wrote on his Twitter post, “Which country is exacerbating Sunni-Shia divide, bombing #Yemen and undermining governments in Iraq and Syria by providing funds and arms to #ISIS?”
Saudi Arabia’s closet ally in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, declared on Wednesday that it managed to avert a bombing plot made by a group which the authorities claim had received “financial and logistical support” from both Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group.
According to a statement released on the official Bahrain News Agency, accusations were made against “suspects in the bombing plot of travelling to Iran and Lebanon and receiving money,” although the main intent was left undisclosed.
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