Arab League Backs Saudi against 'Hostile Acts' from Iran

Top Arab diplomats rallied behind Saudi Arabia on Sunday in a dispute with Iran that has threatened to derail efforts to resolve Middle East conflicts including the war in Syria.

After meeting in Cairo for emergency talks requested by Riyadh, Arab League foreign ministers issued a joint statement denouncing the "hostile acts and provocations of Iran" in the dispute.

The diplomatic row erupted following Saudi Arabia's execution on January 2 of a prominent Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, along with 46 others on terrorism charges.

The execution touched off anti-Saudi demonstrations in many Shiite countries including in Iran where demonstrators sacked and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in second city Mashhad.

Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran the next day and was followed by a number of its Sunni Arab allies including Bahrain and Sudan. Other Arab countries downgraded ties or recalled their envoys to Tehran.

The dispute escalated, with Tehran on Thursday saying Saudi warplanes had bombed its embassy in Yemen, wounding staff, and vowing to protest to the U.N. Security Council.

Riyadh, which is leading an Arab military intervention against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen, denied the accusation, saying no operations were carried out near the mission.

- Yemen efforts threatened -

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also cut air links with Iran, while Tehran has banned Saudi goods from import.

Iran, which denounced the attacks on the embassies and vowed to punish the perpetrators, has accused Saudi Arabia of using the crisis to distract attention from the execution and as a cover for anti-Iranian diplomatic efforts.

Iran's signing of a deal with world powers over its nuclear program last year sparked deep concern in Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, that its longtime rival was emerging from international isolation.

As well as the Syria peace talks, the crisis also threatens a fragile U.N.-backed initiative to end the war in Yemen, where the Huthi rebels have seized control of large parts of the country including the capital Sanaa.

On Saturday officials said another round of peace talks due to take place in Geneva on January 14 had been delayed by at least a week after the Huthis refused to take part.