Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote that Saudi Arabia supports extremism and tried to derail nuclear deal in light of severing of diplomatic relations after execution

Iran’s foreign minister has accused Saudi Arabia of supporting violent extremists and trying to derail its landmark nuclear deal with the US.



In a provocative column in the New York Times on Monday, Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed that Riyadh has promoted “hatred and sectarianism” and drew parallels with beheadings carried out by Isis.

The attack came a week after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in a row over the execution of a Shia cleric. The beheading of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr triggered demonstrations and an arson attack at the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

“Following the signing of the interim nuclear deal in November 2013, Saudi Arabia began devoting its resources to defeating the deal, driven by fear that its contrived Iranophobia was crumbling,” Zarif wrote in the American newspaper. “Today, some in Riyadh not only continue to impede normalisation but are determined to drag the entire region into confrontation.”

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The final nuclear deal between Iran, the US and other world powers was signed last July and could be implemented as soon as this month. In an unusually candid broadside, Zarif argued that Saudi Arabia fears a normalisation of relations between Iran and the west could leave it exposed.

“Saudi Arabia seems to fear that the removal of the smoke screen of the nuclear issue will expose the real global threat: its active sponsorship of violent extremism,” he continued. “The barbarism is clear. At home, state executioners sever heads with swords, as in the recent execution of 47 prisoners in one day, including Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a respected religious scholar who devoted his life to promoting nonviolence and civil rights. Abroad, masked men sever heads with knives.

“The Saudi strategy to derail the nuclear agreement and perpetuate – and even exacerbate – tension in the region has three components: pressuring the West; promoting regional instability through waging war in Yemen and sponsoring extremism; and directly provoking Iran.”

Zarif added: “Let us not forget that the perpetrators of many acts of terror … as well as nearly all members of extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front, have been either Saudi nationals or brainwashed by petrodollar-financed demagogues who have promoted anti-Islamic messages of hatred and sectarianism for decades.”

Other Arab countries followed their Sunni ally in cutting or reducing diplomatic ties with predominantly Shia Iran. Officials in the US came under pressure to choose sides and found it awkward to go further than expressing “concern” over the mass execution carried out by Saudi Arabia, a staunch regional ally.

On the leader page of America’s most prestigious newspaper, Zarif noted that Iran condemned the violence at the Saudi embassy on 2 January and an investigation is under way. “We took immediate measures to help restore order … We also took disciplinary action against those who failed to protect the embassy.”

Safar Ali Baratlou, a senior security official, and General Hassan Arabsorkhi, head of police special forces in Tehran, lost their jobs over the failure to stop the embassy ransacking, according to officials.

Zarif also said Iran showed restraint after events such as last year’s hajj in Saudi Arabia, where 464 Iranians were among more than 2,000 pilgrims killed in a stampede, and had not cut or reduced its diplomatic relations with the kingdom.

“We have until now responded with restraint; but unilateral prudence is not sustainable,” Zarif wrote. “This has fallen on deaf ears in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi leadership must now make a choice: They can continue supporting extremists and promoting sectarian hatred; or they can opt to play a constructive role in promoting regional stability.”

The nuclear deal is set to be implement as soon as Iran meets all conditions, resulting in the lifting of some sanctions worth billions of dollars. But the White House is also considering imposing new and separate sanctions after Iran conducted two ballistic missiles tests in contravention of a UN security council resolution.

Asked to comment on the Zarif’s column, the Saudi embassy in Washington listed examples of what it called “Iran’s negative policies and aggressive interferences”.

“It is clear from Minister Zarif’s statements and those of the foreign ministry that they are out of the loop and out of touch with reality and the centers of power in Iran and are left to defend the reckless behavior of the regime”, the embassy press office wrote in an email.



Chris Coons, a US senator, said on Monday: “When it comes to taking additional actions in response to the ballistic missile launches – absolutely, I think we should do so. I don’t know why the administration has hesitated, but I am urging them publicly and privately to move ahead with those designations.”



Coons, a Democrat, discussed the nuclear deal with leaders and senior officials during a recent trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Austria. He added: “Both the Saudis and Turks were publicly supportive but privately expressed concerns about Iran’s aggression in the region and support for disruptive elements.”

America has to continue to “hold Iran’s feet to the fire” and maintain a “very healthy scepticism” about its willingness to implement the deal, Coons said. He admitted that, even if implemented, he is not confident it will survive the next two years. “Iran continues to engage in bad behaviour like the ballistic missile launches, like support for regional terrorism groups that makes me very wary of any rapprochement or realliance with Iran.

“There is huge anxiety in the region by our core allies about our future intentions and there is a lot of concern. There is a lot of misreading of what the agreement with Iran means. In my view, it does not mean that the United States has suddenly decided to return to a pre-1979 alignment where Iran is one of our principal allies in the region. Far from it. It was the least bad option for how to constrain Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, but our alliances with Saudi Arabia and with Israel remain central.”