RIYADH: World leaders and top dignitaries began arriving in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to offer their condolences following the death of King Abdullah.

Despite deep tensions and rivalries between the nations, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was among the first to arrive in the Sunni-ruled kingdom on Saturday where he was greeted at the airport by the late king’s son, Prince Turki, who is governor of Riyadh. Saudi state TV showed Mr Zarif walking with the prince down a red carpet on the tarmac.

The newly enthroned King Salman is also expected to receive in the coming days US President Barack Obama, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito, Spain’s King Felipe VI, Jordan’s King Abdullah, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik, Dutch King Willem-Alexander, and the United Kingdom’s Prince Charles.

Morocco’s Prince Moulay Rachid will pay his respects on behalf of his brother King Mohammed VI.

Talk of Mr Zarif visiting Saudi Arabia last year quickly dissipated after Iran protested comments made by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in which he called on Tehran to withdraw its “occupying forces” from Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

Iran insists it has no combat forces on the ground in any of the three countries, though it says it has sent senior commanders as advisers to Syria and Iraq.

The diplomatic squabble, in many ways, exemplified how King Abdullah’s most pressing priority was to confront the Shia powerhouse across the Gulf. The multiple conflicts across the region deepened Sunni-Shia hatred and fuelled militancy during his reign.

On Friday evening, the kingdom’s senior cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheikh, government ministers, senior military leaders and other Saudi officials met with Salman, as well as his Crown Prince Muqrin and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, to swear their allegiance.

Al-Sheikh said in comments carried on national television that he advised the king to “fear God in private and in public” and to work with sincerity.

He praised the handing over of power as a “legitimate transition”, essentially giving the Al Saud family the influential religious establishment’s continued blessing and support.

Published in Dawn January 25th , 2015

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