05/01/2016

SaudiArabia,Irantension:KuwaitsidesagainstTehranCNN.com

Iran's Rouhani: Saudi Arabia can't cover up its

'great crime' of executing cleric
By Greg Botelho and Ed Payne, CNN
Updated 2058 GMT (0458 HKT) January 5, 2016

Regions +

Story highlights
NEW: U.N. envoy: Saudi Arabia says regional
tensions won't affect the Syria peace talks
NEW: John Kerry is "very concerned with the
direction this is going," a U.S. official says
Saudi Arabia executed 47, including a top
Shiite cleric, on terrorism charges; Iranians
protested

(CNN)Iran's President Hassan Rouhani lashed out at

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, days after Saudi authorities
executed a prominent Shiite cleric and then severed
official ties with Tehran.
He called the decision to sever ties with Tehran -- after
the uproar surrounding the execution -- a strange
move in response to what he called justified criticism.
"Undoubtedly, such moves (severing ties) will never
hide that great crime," President Hassan Rouhani said,
referring to execution, according to Iran's state-run
Press TV.

In remarks in Tehran with Danish Foreign Minister

Kristian Jensen, Rouhani defended those who have
reacted angrily to the mass execution. This includes
this weekend's storming and torching of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, which spurred Riyadh to cut
diplomatic ties.
"It is only natural that a crime against Islamic and human rights will be met with reaction from public opinion,"
Rouhani said.
Saturday's execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others in a single day on terrorism charges has stirred a
vigorous reaction in the Middle East and beyond. Many countries have taken sides, along sectarian lines -with predominantly Shiite nations such as Iran condemning it, and predominantly Sunni nations such as
Kuwait, supporting Saudi Arabia.

Iran's pres.: Riyadh cannot cover its crime by severing political relations with #Iran
pic.twitter.com/hyoTaflBIm
Press TV (@PressTV) January 5, 2016
On Tuesday, for instance, Kuwait, whose ruling family and most of its citizens are Sunni, recalled its
ambassador to Tehran, citing "torching and sabotage activities" of Iranian demonstrators.
"Such action constitutes a flagrant breach of international conventions and violation of Iran's international
commitment over security and safety of diplomatic missions on its lands," the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said.

Rouhani: Europe has a human rights obligation to act

The United Nations Security Council did not address the execution of Nimr, who was convicted of inciting
sectarian strife, sedition and other charges after his 2012 arrest. But it did condemn "in the strongest terms"
the attacks that followed -- on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and another Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran
after the execution of the cleric infuriated protesters there -- and urged Iran "to protect diplomatic and
consular premises against any intrusion or damage."
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SaudiArabia,Irantension:KuwaitsidesagainstTehranCNN.com

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jaberi Ansari has

said his country is committed to protecting diplomatic
missions and reiterated that no Saudi diplomats were
harmed -- or even present -- during this weekend's
attack.

10 photos: Protest in Tehran after Saudis

execute cleric

Despite such assurances, many in the region are siding with the Saudis.
In addition to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Bahrain -- where a Sunni monarch rules over a predominantly Shiite
nation -- also severed diplomatic ties with Iran on the heels of the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in
Iran.
The United Arab Emirates recalled its ambassador, while Sudan expelled the Iranian ambassador and the
entire Iranian diplomatic mission in the country.
Yet Rouhani, like other Iranian officials, has stood his ground.
"Criticism should not be responded to with beheading," the Iranian President said. "We hope that European
countries, which always react to issues of human rights, would act on their human rights-related obligations
in this case, too."
Opinion: How to ease Iran-Saudi Arabia crisis

John Kerry 'very concerned,' official says

Calling the breakdown in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia "deeply concerning," U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon talked to foreign ministers for both nations Sunday to push for peace.
Other countries have done the same, with Turkey urging both sides to "abandon ... the language of threats
and a return to the language of diplomacy."
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05/01/2016

SaudiArabia,Irantension:KuwaitsidesagainstTehranCNN.com

That's the stance being taken by the United States, with Secretary of State John Kerry reaching out to the
Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to try to calm tensions.
"The Secretary is very concerned with the direction this thing is going," a senior State Department official
said. "It's very unsettling to him that so many nations are choosing not to engage.
"With so much turmoil in the region, the last thing we need is for people not to be having conversations."

State Department spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday morning that his government had "expressed our
concerns privately and publicly to the Saudi leaders" about the legal process and executions for several
months. But now that they've happened, Kirby said key regional players should use dialogue to work out
their differences and not lose focus on other looming issues -- namely the fight against ISIS and ending
Syria's years-long civil war.
"We don't want this to impact operations against ISIL, and so far it is not," Kirby told CNN's "New Day,"
using another acronym for ISIS. "We don't want this to affect the political transition in Syria and the move to
get the opposition groups at the table" with President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
"So far, that hasn't changed either. But we're mindful of the potential effects here, and that is why we're
working ... so hard."

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05/01/2016

SaudiArabia,Irantension:KuwaitsidesagainstTehranCNN.com

Will this affect Iran nuclear or Syria peace talks?

A second State Department official said it is difficult to figure out what either side, specifically Saudi Arabia
and Iran, hope to achieve from this commotion. Do the Saudis and their allies want to hold up negotiations
focused on Iran's nuclear program and ending sanctions against Iran? Or is it an effort to affect what
happens in Syria, where Iran has been one of Assad's few notable allies and Saudi Arabia has given financial
aid and weapons to rebels fighting him?
Kirby said Washington continues to lead the effort to defeat ISIS and to end Syria's crisis. But he said it's up
to leaders in Tehran and Riyadh to stem the tensions, without the United States forcing the issue.
"This isn't a time for threats and clout and trying to use leverage," the State Department spokesman said.
"This is a time for these (countries' leaders) to get together and work this out."
Saudi Arabia-Iran feud jeopardizes U.S. efforts on ISIS, Syria
The tensions between the Sunni and Shiite arms of Islam date back 14 centuries to the schism over who
should succeed the Prophet Mohammed as its leader.
Today, nearly 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni. Still, there are powerful Shiite players in the world, like
Iran. And something like Nimr's execution is sure to only exacerbate differences between the sects.
Yet the U.N. special envoy on Syria insisted Tuesday that he's gotten assurances from the Saudis "that the
current regional tensions will not have any negative impact" on efforts to resolve a civil war that's left
hundreds of thousands dead and forced millions to flee.
The envoy, Staffan de Mistura, said after meeting Saudi Arabia's foreign minister in Riyadh: "This, for us, is
very important because we cannot afford to lose this momentum, despite what is going on in the region."
Iran and Saudi Arabia at loggerheads: How we got here
CNN's Michael Pearson, Catherine E. Shoichet, Mariano Castillo, Elise Labott and Jamie Crawford
contributed to this report.

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