Diplomatic row: Somalia cuts diplomatic ties with Iran

After accusing the Iranian Embassy of establishing sects that pose a threat to national security in the Horn of Africa, Somalia government has cut diplomatic ties with Iran, recalling its envoys from Tehran.

Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke’s office, in a statement e-mailed Thursday from the capital, Mogadishu said: “Iranian diplomats have been “directly involved” in meddling with internal Somali affairs and have carried out measures that are a threat to our national security.”

Read also: Iran bans Saudi imports

The statement said Shiite Muslim sects established in Somalia by the unidentified diplomats were similar to those that exist in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

Iranian diplomats were given 72 hours to leave the country, according to a separate statement issued by Somalia’s Foreign Ministry.

Somalia joins several other countries in the region that have cut ties with Iran amid a diplomatic standoff between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

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