[LINK] "Saudi-Iran Spat Grows as Arms Intercept Follows Hajj Crush"

[rfmcdonald]

Bloomberg's Alaa Shahine and Glen Carey report on the intensification of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry.

The confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran escalated on Wednesday, as the kingdom said it foiled an Iranian arms shipment to Yemeni rebels and the Islamic Republic again hit out over last week’s fatal Hajj stampede in Mecca.

The Saudi-led military coalition said it seized an Iranian boat carrying weapons bound for Yemen. The boat was held in the Arabian Sea with a cargo that included anti-tank weapons as well as missile launchers, the coalition said in a statement. There was no comment from Iranian officials.

Hours later, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued Iran’s attacks on Saudi Arabia over its handling of the stampede near the holy city of Mecca, in which hundreds of pilgrims were killed. Failure to return the bodies of Iranian victims, he said, would be met with a “tough and severe” response from his country.

The two nations are on the opposite ends of some of the Middle East’s bloodiest conflicts from Syria to Yemen. The confrontation between Shiite power Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia dims hopes that Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers sealed in July could help resolve other crises.