Fars: Saudi Arabia's Efforts for a Unified Gulf Cooperation Council Action Against Iran

Fars News Agency reported early Monday, January 4, citing a "diplomatic source," that Saudi Arabia, after severing ties with Iran, is attempting to encourage Gulf countries, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, to cut relations with Iran as well. The news agency claimed that an unnamed "diplomatic source" indicated the Saudi government's efforts for a "unified action among Gulf countries" to sever ties with Iran. This "diplomatic source" predicted that in line with cutting relations with Iran, similar statements would be issued by Bahrain and the UAE, and claimed that "Saudi pressure on other countries is also ongoing to follow a similar course." On Sunday evening, a day after protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Saudi Arabia announced the withdrawal of its diplomats from Iran and the severing of relations with Tehran, giving Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have been ongoing for months over regional issues including roles in Syria and Yemen, escalated on Saturday with the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shiite cleric critical of the Saudi regime, and peaked with the attack by protesters on Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad. This situation turned the sharp edge of criticism towards Iran, with the European Union, the United States, and other countries urging the Islamic Republic to ensure the safety of the Saudi diplomat and the diplomatic missions in Iranian territory. Meanwhile, on Saturday, most countries and international groups condemned Saudi Arabia for the mass execution of 47 opposition prisoners, including Sheikh Nimr. On Sunday, the United States strongly condemned the attack on diplomatic missions and called for Iran to protect the Saudi embassy. In another development related to the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Iranian ambassador in Abu Dhabi and protested against "Iran's interference in Saudi sovereignty and the violation of diplomatic premises in Tehran and Mashhad." On the same day, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the attack on diplomatic missions, calling it a "brutal" act. The attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran was also condemned in the "strongest possible terms" by the Secretary-General of the Arab League. In the years following the victory of the February 1979 revolution, protesters attacked foreign embassies at least four other times, two of which led to severed relations. In November 1979, students following Imam Khomeini occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took its staff hostage, leading to the severing of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran. Since then, Iran and the U.S. have had no diplomatic relations. In 2011, a group of Basij students attacked the British embassy in Tehran, which also resulted in the severing of relations between Iran and Britain. The British embassy in Tehran has recently reopened. In this context, Rafsanjani stated that attacks on diplomatic premises exacerbate regional crises, while Iran asserted that severing relations cannot cover up the mistake of executing Sheikh Nimr. The question remains whether the seizure and destruction of embassies in Iran will stop.