Kuwait has announced it is recalling its ambassador to Iran as a regional row over the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia deepens. Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was ransacked and set alight on Saturday, after it executed Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others. Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response, followed on Monday by its allies Bahrain and Sudan. The US, UN and Turkey are among those calling for calm in the region. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are major rivals for power in the Middle East and back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Saudi insists peace efforts should not be affected by the dispute but has criticised Iran’s contribution to the process. Iran has reiterated its condemnation of Saudi Arabia, with President Hassan Rouhani saying it cannot “hide its crime of beheading a religious leader by severing political relations with Iran”.(BBC)…[+]
Iran-Saudi Arabia row: Kuwait recalls ambassador from Tehran
