ARAB LEAGUE TO MEET OVER SAUDI-IRAN TENSION

Members of Sadrist movement hold posters of Nimr Baqir al-Nimr during a protest against the execution (Photo : MEMO)

Cairo, 26 Rabi’ul Awwal 1437/6 January 2016 (MINA) – Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting next Sunday in Cairo in response to a Saudi request “to condemn Iran’s violations” of the kingdom’s embassy and consulate in Tehran. The meeting is being convened under the umbrella of the Arab League.

According to the league’s Deputy Secretary General, Ahmed Bin Haly, the meeting will “condemn Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries.”

The meeting has been called against the backdrop of the escalating tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia after the latter announced on 2 January that it had beheaded the Shia scholar Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr, one of the most prominent opposition figures in the kingdom, along with 46 others convicted of “terrorism”.

Riyadh announced on Sunday that it has cut diplomatic ties with Iran. Bahrain and Sudan have followed Saudi Arabia’s lead and done the same. (T/P002/R07)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)