March 20, 2016
Saudi Arabia finds it difficult to maintain good relations with Iran because of Tehran’s policies, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said last week.
“Relations with Iran are difficult because of its policies,” Jubeir told India’s Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) in an interview.
Diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran were cut off by Saudi Arabia after it executed a Shia cleric in January and mobs then attacked and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Mashhad
According to a statement issued by the Saudi embassy in New Delhi, the cleric, Nimr Al-Nimr, “was involved in inciting people, recruiting people and providing weapons to people…. He was involved in attacks against security personnel and police stations that led to the killing of innocents.”
According to Jubeir, though Riyadh has been trying to develop good ties with Tehran since the time of the Iranian revolution, it has been difficult because of the policies of that country’s government.
“We have tremendous respect for Iran’s culture,” he said. “But Iran’s government is following a policy of sectarianism. It has a policy of interfering in the matters of other countries.”
The Saudi foreign minister said that unless Tehran changed its policies, it would be difficult to deal with Iran.
