UAE summons Iranian ambassador after Saudi embassy attack

The UAE on Sunday summoned Iran’s ambassador after attacks on two Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic republic, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

Demonstrators targeted the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday, in protest against Riyadh’s executions of 47 terrorism convicts, which include Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr and al-Qaeda ideologue Fares al-Shuwail.

The demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy building in the Iranian capital, smashed furniture and started fires before being ejected by police. No Saudi embassy staff were in the building at the time.

A copycat protest at the Saudi consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad broke out on Sunday.

“These acts represent a violation of international charters and norms,” the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

WAM also said the UAE gave Iran’s Ambassador the UAE Mohammed Reza Fayyad a written protest note over Tehran’s “intervention in the sovereign affairs of the fraternal country of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Gulf states - especially Bahrain - have long accused Tehran of intervening in their national affairs.

On Sunday, the six-member regional Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc expressed support for Saudi’s ongoing fight against “terrorism.”