Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of striking embassy

Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran on Thursday accused a Saudi-led coalition of hitting its embassy in Yemen in an airstrike, and even though no damage was visible on the building from the outside, the allegation highlighted how the two countries’ standoff could endanger the greater Middle East.

Hours later, in Saudi Arabia’s eastern Shiite heartland, a memorial service took place to honor Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, whose execution Saturday by the kingdom sparked regional protests culminating in attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran.

While armored personnel carriers rumbled through the area and smoke from burning tires rose into the air, the service for the cleric who advocated for Shiite rights in the Sunni-ruled kingdom passed without violence. But anger could be felt in the hall, as videos showed mourners shouting: “Death to the Al Saud,” a reference to the royal family.

The airstrike claim by Iran came Thursday afternoon, when its state-run news agency said a Saudi-led airstrike the previous night had hit the Iranian embassy in Sanaa, citing Iran’s Foreign Ministry. However, an Associated Press reporter who reached the site just after the announcement saw no damage to the building, which sits in a neighborhood near a presidential palace that’s seen many previous strikes.

Iran vowed to file a report about their claim to the United Nations, while the Saudi military issued a statement through the kingdom’s state news agency, dismissing the allegation as false.