Kuwait Recalls Ambassador From Iran Over Saudi Rift

Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has angered Shi’ites across the Middle East and caused a major diplomatic row between revolutionary, mainly Shi’ite Iran and Saudi Arabia’s conservative Sunni monarchy.

Rouhani says that the “Saudi government has taken a unusual action and cut off its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran to cover its crimes”. “Undoubtedly, such actions can’t cover up that big crime”.

“Foreign ministers of the GCC States will hold an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on Saturday…to discuss the repercussions of the attack on the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad”, GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said in an emailed statement.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Sudan broke all ties with Iran and the United Arab Emirates downgraded its relations on Monday after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was stormed by protesters. News of his execution has sparked Shiite protests from Bahrain to Pakistan.

Egypt’s foreign minister has denounced the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran as “unacceptable”.

When a Saudi state executioner beheaded prominent Shia dissident Nimr Nimr over the weekend, the Shia theocracy in Iran took it as a deliberate provocation by its regional rival and dusted off its favoured playbook, unleashing hardliner anger on the streets. In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Iran’s United Nations envoy Gholamali Khoshroo said more than 40 protesters have been arrested and that authorities are searching for other suspects.

Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was set alight on Saturday in retaliation.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, which support opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, play key roles in the ongoing peace efforts to end fighting in these countries.

Several Saudi allies followed the kingdom’s lead and on Monday scaled back or cut diplomatic ties to Iran.

Al-Nimr, a central figure in the Arab Spring-inspired protests by Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, was executed after being convicted of sedition and of other crimes, though he long denied advocating violence.

Secretary of State John Kerry has been in touch with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and is expected to soon reach out to his Saudi counterpart, Earnest said. The council statement, agreed to after hours of negotiations, made no mention of the Saudi executions or the rupture in Saudi-Iranian relations.

“Pro-Iranian extremist groups in Iraq and Bahrain have threatened terrorist attacks if Nimr is executed, which he indeed has been”, said David Weinberg, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

World powers have sought to calm the tensions.

Saudi Arabia had previously severed ties with Iran from 1988 to 1991 over rioting during the hajj in 1987 and Iran’s attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Saudi Arabia has supported Egypt as it struggles with a growing insurgency and economic downturn.