Karachi: Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Saudi Arabia of using its row with Tehran to derail the peace talks on the Syrian conflict.
“Saudi Arabia’s approach is to create tension intended to negatively affect the Syrian crisis. We will not allow Saudi actions to have a negative impact” Zarif said in a foreign ministry statement.
According to the Express Tribune, the statement coincided with the UN peace envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura’s visit to Tehran for talks on Syria. Tensions have been on a high between the two nations after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran following a row that began with the Sunni kingdom’s execution of a Shia cleric.
Saudi Arabia had maintained earlier that severing diplomatic ties with Iran was the first step and it could go further if Tehran does not change its policies. Earlier, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir said that his country would talk about taking further actions against Iran with its regional and international allies if it had to.
