Somalia cuts ties with Iran in latest Saudi-led diplomatic war

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s government has cut ties with Iran Thursday, in a new political shift for the horn of Africa nation which affirmed its bilateral relations with Iran on Wednesday.

The development makes Somalia the latest country which joined the Saudi-led anti-Iran diplomatic war.  Saudi Arabia said it has cut ties with Iran after Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in

Tehran, ransacking and setting fire to the building in retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and 46 others on Saturday.

In a statement issued by Somalia’s foreign ministry, Somali government said it has severed its diplomatic relations with Iran after a ‘careful’ consideration and in response to the Republic of Iran’s

continuous ‘interference’ in Somalia’s internal affairs.

The government has also recalled its Charge d’ Affaire in Tehran, and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Somalia within 72 hours.

No comment could be reached from the Iranian mission to Somalia on the development.

Somali’s government’s rapid political shift towards Iran comes one day after its foreign minister Abdisalam Hadliye has affirmed his country’s relations with Iran, and dismissed reports that the country was planning to expel Iranian diplomats in the country.

UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Sudan are among the countries that sided with Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic row with Iran.

However, there have been reports that the tiny horn of Africa nation of Djibouti has also cut ties with Iran, according to the Saudi-funded Alarabiya TV, however, the Djibouti government hasn’t yet confirmed the reports.

Hiiraan