Saudi Arabia to Iran: Stop meddling in the affairs of other countries

(Image credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 5 January 2016

Saudi Arabia's U.N. ambassador said that for diplomatic ties to be restored with Iran, Tehran must "cease and desist from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, including our own."

"If they do so, of course we will have normal relations with Iran," Abdallah al-Mouallimi said Monday. "We are not natural-born enemies of Iran." Saudi Arabia announced Sunday it was cutting all ties with Iran, after protesters angry over the kingdom executing a prominent Shiite cleric stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of using the attack as an "excuse" to halt relations; Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir responded by telling Reuters the diplomatic action was caused by Iran's "aggressive policies."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.