(VOVworld) -  Iran's foreign minister accused Saudi Arabia of provocations toward Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region's two major powers entered its second week.

A protester holds a picture of Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed in Saudi Arabia, as others chant slogans during a rally after Friday prayers in Tehran January 8, 2016. (photo: Reuters/Raheb Homavandi)

In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon published by Iranian news agencies on Saturday, foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said "some people" in Riyadh seemed bent on dragging the whole region into crisis.
He said Saudi Arabia had a series of provocations targeting Iran including the execution of Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and "persistent mistreatment" of Iranian pilgrims visiting Mecca. Zarif also portrayed Saudi Arabia as a threat to regional and global security that “most members of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Islamic State and Nusra Front are Saudi citizens.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the foreign ministers of several countries.