Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

Over 45 Muslim countries have condemned Iran for a recent attack on the Saudi Embassy and for supporting terrorism at a meeting organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Jan. 14 stood by ally Saudi Arabia in its widening rift with Iran over the execution of a Shiite cleric while urging the regional rivals to pursue a diplomatic solution.

Masked men threw firebombs at an intelligence service compound in the city of Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, activists said on Jan. 11, in an apparent reprisal for the execution of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric earlier this month. 

Yes, it is the latest reflection of a regional power struggle and rivalry of domination. Yes, it is the culmination of proxy wars between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Yes, the rift has sectarian (Shiite/Sunni) and perhaps nationalistic (Persian-Arab) overtones, since no power struggle expresses itself in terms of sheer power. But, no it is not primarily an ethnic or sectarian clash.

Arab League chief calls on the attendees of an emergency meeting to 'adopt a strong and clear common position calling on Iran to stop all forms of interference in the affairs of Arab nations'Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi accused Tehran of "provocative acts" as top Arab diplomats met on Jan. 10 for talks on Saudi Arabia's diplomatic row with Iran.

Syria's government told a U.N. envoy on Jan. 9 it was ready to participate in Geneva peace talks later this month but said officials wanted to know who would take part from the opposition. 

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who met U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura in Damascus, also demanded a list of groups that would be classified as terrorist, state media reported. 

Iran's foreign minister has complained to the United Nations about Saudi Arabia's "provocations" towards Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region's two major powers entered its second week. 

I saw it in my inbox yesterday morning. It was a photo of a Muslim family from Iraq: A father, a mother and a sweet young girl. The father carried a sign reading, "I am Shia." The mother, in her traditional hijab (headscarf), carried another sign reading, "I am Sunni." The little girl, sitting between the two parents, presented the synthesis: Her sign read "I am Sushi."

The region is going through its worst sectarian crisis in the last three decades. This conflict, which will certainly have a long life span, had cast its shadows long before.

Turkey has asked Iran's ambassador for an end to Iranian media reports linking the execution of a Shiite cleric by Saudi Arabia with last week's visit to Riyadh by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.