Saudi Arabia ordered an Iranian diplomat and three members of his team to leave the country Saturday, as the Kingdom continues to absorb Iranian missile strikes launched in retaliation for the US-Israeli military campaign against Tehran.
Riyadh holds Tehran directly responsible for the attacks on Saudi soil © Mena Today
Saudi Arabia ordered an Iranian diplomat and three members of his team to leave the country Saturday, as the Kingdom continues to absorb Iranian missile strikes launched in retaliation for the US-Israeli military campaign against Tehran.
In an official statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced "Iran's repeated attacks" and announced it had "taken the decision to declare persona non grata the military attaché of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as three members of the embassy's military mission."
The four diplomats have been given 48 hours to leave Saudi territory.
The expulsion of Iran's military attaché is a significant diplomatic escalation, stopping just short of a full severance of relations, but sending an unambiguous message: Riyadh holds Tehran directly responsible for the attacks on Saudi soil and is no longer willing to maintain even the pretense of normal diplomatic engagement with the regime conducting them.
Saudi Arabia has already declared that it reserves the right to military action against Iran following the ballistic missile strikes on its territory, including the unprecedented aerial threat alerts sent to Riyadh residents and the interception of four ballistic missiles targeting the capital.
By Nabil Al Blooshi
Iran has warned the United States that it would respond forcefully to an Israeli offensive on a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the renewed U.S. campaign against Iran would not continue for "too long" after the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July.
Top aides to President Donald Trump are pushing to keep the Iran war from escalating before November's midterm elections to staunch Republican electoral losses, four people familiar with the discussions said, a strategy already under strain as the U.S. and Iran exchanged back-and-forth attacks overnight.
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