KUWAIT, Jan 5 (KUNA) -- Regional and international reactions surged against recent hostile acts by Iranian demonstrators on the Saudi Embassy and Consulate in Tehran and Mashhad.
Kuwait on Tuesday summoned its ambassador in Iran in protest against the storming and torching of the Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran following the execution of 47 Saudi terror convicts in Saudi Arabia.
An official source at the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said in a statement that such acts constitute a flagrant breach of international conventions and violation of Iran's international commitment over security and safety of diplomatic missions on its lands.
Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah also summoned Iran's Ambassador in Kuwait Ali Reda Enayeti and handed him a written note of protest over the attacks on Saudi Arabia's Embassy in Tehran and its Consulate in Mashhad.
Al-Jarallah said in the protest note today that such acts represented a flagrant violation of international conventions and norms.
He reiterated Kuwait's condemnation of such flagrant violations, urging Iran to honor its international commitments towards the accredited diplomatic missions and protecting their staff.
Al-Jarallah pointed out that it is Iran's responsibility to fully protect the foreign diplomatic missions in accordance with the international conventions regulating diplomatic and consular ties based on respect of sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs.
This, he maintained, would guarantee peace and security in the region and contribute to the consolidation of efforts aimed at building confidence among nations.
Al-Jarallah reaffirmed Kuwait's supportive stance with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all measures taken to safeguard its security and stability.
Kuwait's new move comes just one day after its cabinet strongly condemned "hostile acts" by Iranian protesters against the Saudi embassy and consulate in Iran.
The cabinet stressed that these acts constitute a "blatant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 on States' commitment to the protection of diplomatic missions and their premises, as well as the safety of staff.
Holding the Iranian authorities fully responsible for the attacks on the Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran, the cabinet reaffirmed that Kuwait stands side by side with the Kingdom, supporting all measures Riyadh adopts to maintain its security and stability.
Earlier on Sunday, Kuwait sharply condemned attacks by Iranian demonstrators on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, and the Saudi Consulate in Mashhad, an official source at the Foreign Ministry said.
Iranian authorities should shoulder responsibility for protecting the embassy and ensuring the safety of its staff, the source requested.
Such attacks are a flagrant violation of Vienna Convention that requires States to protect and safeguard diplomatic missions and to ensure the safety of their staff, the source reminded.
The source called on Iranian authorities to abide by all international rules and norms which state the respect of States' sovereignty and non-interference in their internal affairs.
In addition, the source reiterated Kuwait's support to all measures adopted by Saudi Arabia to maintain its security and stability.
On the Gulf level, GCC Foreign Ministers are set to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the recent attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani announced on Tuesday.
In a press statement, Al-Zayani said that meeting will be held in Riyadh under the Chairmanship of Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir announced arrangements for meetings of the GCC and the Arab League, in addition to moves at the UN, on recent attacks on the Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran.
He said during a joint press conference with his visiting Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukry that the kingdom would do its best to promote the negative role played by Iran in the region and its violations of international laws and conventions.
On a Russian initiative to find a political solution between Riyadh and Tehran, Al-Jubeir said: "The violations and aggressive moves came from one party and not from the two parties." The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over 35 years has not carried out any aggressive act against Iran; but Iran over the 35 years since the Iranian revolution has moved in a negative and aggressive way towards the Kingdom, interferes in the affairs of the region, supports terrorism, recruits people of this region to work against their societies, and smuggles weapons and explosives into countries in the region to destabilize the security situations in the region, and these matters are unacceptable, he said.
"Iran incites for terrorism, violence and extremism, protects terrorists and people accused of terrorism and gives them Iranian passports, does not respect international laws or international norms in particular; as for the protection of diplomatic missions, the escalation, aggressive acts and evil all came from Iran, not from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying.
"Therefore, if Iran wants to have a positive and natural role in the region, it must desist from these acts of aggression and behave with the countries of the region such as do any countries seeking good-neighborliness, and it is up to Iran, its behavior and means taken by it, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region welcome if Iran improves its behavior," he added.
On his part, the Egyptian foreign minister said during the press conference: "We made a decision to cut ties with Iran 27 years ago because of the situation at that time, and see in this interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom as rejected and nor approved by any of the international laws and norms; and thus we find in the Kingdom's decision what meets its sovereignty and interests." "We have stressed many times that we stand with the firm position that we are working with our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to be endorsed and confirmed on every occasion that the Kingdom's security is an integral part of Egypt's security and Egypt's security is an integral part of the security of the Kingdom," he added.
Internationally, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned in the strongest terms the attacks on the Saudi embassy and its consulate in Tehran, calling on the Iranian government to take the necessary steps to protect diplomatic missions in Iran.
A statement by the UNSC Monday said that the UN conventions associated with the protection of diplomatic missions made it mandatory on Iran to provide security for foreign diplomats on its lands.
Saudi's permanent delegate to the UN headquarters Abdallah bin Yahya Al-Moallim called on the UNSC to take the necessary steps to ensure that Iran abides by international laws concerning the protection of diplomatic personnel.
As a result of the attacks, Riyadh had severed diplomatic ties with Tehran, he said.
In Malaysia, the Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks that took place against the Saudi embassy and its missions in Iran, after local demonstrators trashed the buildings.
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement its concerns over the recent developments in the Middle East region, after Saudi Arabia and a number of countries severed their diplomatic ties with Iran.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman condemned demonstrators' outrageous behaviors and urged the Iranian authorities to protect diplomatic missions' headquarters in their country, in accordance to Vienna Convention of 1961.
Iranian authorities should go after the mastermind behind these attacks, Aman stressed.
In Japan, the top government spokesperson expressed concern over mounting tensions in the Middle East, following a breakdown in diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
"We are concerned about worsened relations between some Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Iran," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
"Japan urges all relevant parties to exercise self-restraint, calm the situation and resolve the issue peacefully," Suga said.
Similarly, Indonesia is seeking to mediate the Saudi-Iranian tense situation after Riyadh announced its decision to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that in an attempt to "solve the dispute peacefully," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi contacted the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
He called on all disputed parties to "exercise self-restraint and avoid any actions that might escalate the problem." In Berlin, the German Foreign Ministry criticized attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran, describing it as a new Iranian "failure," to protect diplomats and their properties.
German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said on Tuesday in a press conference that his government is worried about this attack since it violated "international laws." (end) mt