Zarif: Saudi Arabia Wants to Influence the Syrian Crisis Through Provocation

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, accused Saudi Arabia on Sunday, January 20, of "attempting to negatively influence the Syrian crisis with its provocative actions." According to the IRNA news agency, he stated during a meeting in Tehran with Stefan de Mistura, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, that "we will not allow Saudi's provocative approaches to have a negative impact on resolving the Syrian crisis." The UN Security Council supports an eighteen-month plan aimed at ending the civil war in Syria, which has been ongoing for nearly five years. Negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups are scheduled for January 25 (February 4). Stefan de Mistura, who had previously traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with Syrian opposition and ambassadors from some Western countries, arrived in Tehran on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in Syria and the status of international dialogues regarding Syria with Iranian officials. Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have been escalating in recent months, entered a new phase following the execution of Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a Shia cleric, Tehran's protest against this execution, and an attack on Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad, leading Riyadh to sever diplomatic relations with Iran. Additionally, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, threatened on Saturday that "if Iran continues its current policies," Saudi Arabia would take "further actions" against Iran. Meanwhile, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, stated on Saturday that "the war of embassies will not benefit Saudi Arabia," adding that "Tehran, unlike Riyadh, is not seeking to provoke tensions." Regarding the "attack on the Iranian embassy in Yemen," Zarif mentioned on Sunday that "they are hiding their negative approaches by attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy in Sana'a and injuring an embassy staff member, while the Islamic Republic of Iran acts responsibly regarding the necessity of protecting embassies." Tehran accused Saudi Arabia on Thursday, January 17, of targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, with its aircraft. One day after Iran threatened to file a complaint against Saudi Arabia with the UN regarding this incident, Saudi Arabia denied the attack. The Saudi coalition's coordination headquarters in Yemen announced that no attack had occurred against the Iranian embassy in Sana'a or in its vicinity.