SAUDI ARABIA: Residents of Riyadh say U.S. accusations that Tehran was behind a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington are souring Iran-Saudi relations and tarnishing the reputation of Islam in the wider world

Record ID: 188868

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Residents of Riyadh say U.S. accusations that Tehran was behind a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington are souring Iran-Saudi relations and tarnishing the reputation of Islam in the wider world
  • Date: 13th October 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ABOUT PLOT
  • Embargoed: 28th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE3J51XLHZ1J7VYX636OMRBPQF
  • Story Text: Rivalry between powerful Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia and Iran has entered a dangerous new phase after the United States accused Tehran of plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
    The alleged plot, angrily denied by Tehran, comes at a critical moment in the Middle East's so-called Cold War that pits the Arab, Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia against the mostly Persian, Shi'ite Islamic Republic of Iran.
    "Saudi Arabia will not buy this at face (value), it will really look at it seriously... and (judge) its reaction towards threatening an international politics of Saudi Arabia," said member of the Shura Council - Parliament - Dr Abdullah Askar on Wednesday (October 12).
    It is too early to tell whether the heightened tensions between OPEC's top two oil producers will lead to recalling ambassadors, demanding sanctions or limiting Iranian visas for the coming Haj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
    But with both countries supporting competing sides in the messy sectarian struggles embroiling Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain, the stakes for Middle East stability could hardly be higher.
    "Enough that we are tarnishing the reputation of Islam among us, it's not good in front of the world - my message is that we only want to live in peace," said Riyadh resident Abdul Karrem al Naif.
    "We have received news of the attempt to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington with condemnation and wonder. We hope that such a shameful act will not be repeated in any country," said another Saudi Omar al Griri.
    Undergirding Saudi Arabia's concerns is its fear that Iran may be using a nuclear energy programme to develop an atomic bomb that would fundamentally alter the dynamic of power in the Gulf. Tehran says its nuclear programme has only peaceful aims.
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