Saudi bans travel to Iran

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said on Monday it was cutting all air links with Iran after Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran amid a mounting diplomatic row.

The authority said that following the kingdom's decision to cut diplomatic relations, it had informed all airlines operating in Saudi Arabia it was "suspending and preventing all their flights to and from Iran," according to a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

Iranian pilgrims would still be welcome to visit Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Medinah in western Saudi Arabia, either for the annual Hajj or at other times of year on the Umrah pilgrimage, Al Jubeir said.