Saudi Arabia Will Be Razed Except For Mecca And Medina If It Attacks Us: Iran

Iran will hit back at most of Saudi Arabia with the exception of Islam's holiest cities of Mecca and Medina if the kingdom does anything "ignorant", Tehran's defence minister was quoted as saying after Saudi Arabia’s latest threats to take their conflict inside Iran.

Reuters quoted Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan telling Arabic Channel Al-Manar channel “We warn them against doing anything ignorant, but if they do something ignorant, we will leave nowhere untouched apart from Mecca and Medina.”

Dehgha's blunt remarks came in response to Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who said on Tuesday any contest for influence between the Sunni Muslim kingdom and the revolutionary Shi'ite theocracy ought to take place "inside Iran, not in Saudi Arabia".

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been strained since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Saudi Arabia and Iran compete for influence in the Middle East and support opposing groups in Syria's civil war. The execution of Nimr Al Nimr, a prominent Shiite preacher last January by Riyadh added to the tension between the two countries.