Mourners and family members bury King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday. Photograph: EPA\/Saudo Press Agency <\/p>\n
World leaders and top dignitaries have begun arriving in Saudi Arabia to give their condolences following the death of King Abdullah, who has died aged 90 after nearly two decades at the helm. <\/p>\n
Despite deep tensions and rivalries between the nations, Irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was among the first to arrive to the Sunni-ruled kingdom, where he was greeted at the airport by the late kings son, Prince Turki, who is governor of Riyadh. <\/p>\n
The newly enthroned King Salman is also expected to receive in the coming days US president Barack Obama, Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Japans Crown Prince Naruhito, Spains King Felipe VI, Jordans King Abdullah, Denmarks Crown Prince Frederik, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Prince Charles. <\/p>\n
Moroccos Prince Moulay Rachid will pay his respects on the 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 Arabias foreign minister Saud al-Faisal in which he called on Tehran to withdraw its occupying forces from Syria, Yemen and Iraq. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The diplomatic squabble, in many ways, exemplified how Abdullahs most pressing priority was to confront the Shia powerhouse across the Gulf. <\/p>\n
The multiple conflicts across the region deepened Sunni-Shia hatreds and fueled militancy during his reign. <\/p>\n
The king, who ascended to the throne in 2005 but had been de-facto ruler for a decade before that, was buried yesterday afternoon in an unmarked grave after a prayer service in the capital Riyadh. <\/p>\n
The Muslim-only funeral was attended by Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and the rulers of Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. <\/p>\n
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World leaders travel to Saudi Arabia to pay respect to new king<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mourners and family members bury King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday. Continue reading