Iran, Saudi Arabia seem to avoid hasty decisions

An informed source at the Foreign Ministry has rejected as “false” reports that Iran and Saudi Arabia are to downgrade their diplomatic ties following the execution on Saturday of prominent Saudi Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

The source told IFP that no measure has been taken by Tehran or Riyadh to that end.

It came after certain Iranian media quoted some sources in the region as reporting that Saudi Arabia has expelled the Iranian ambassador to Riyadh and that Tehran has acted in kind.

With tensions between the two key regional heavyweights running high, certain media experts and politicians speculate about the future of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the form of reports.

Iran’s foreign policy seems to have been formulated based on the principle of tolerance with a focus on serving regional interests. The timely reaction of Iran’s Foreign Ministry to the incident in Tehran on Saturday night – in which a number of enraged young people stormed the Saudi embassy – is in line with Iran’s strategy of pursuing convergence with neighboring countries, especially Muslim nations.

Although the guarded words and deeds of Iranian politicians and officials met with the protest of part of Iranian society, they signify the seriousness of what Tehran favors: prevention of creating new tensions in a region which is already beset by growing crises.