Back in October, Iran put the Obama administration in a tough spot. Tehran test-fired a next generation, surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Kuwait has recalled its ambassador from Iran as the regional row over the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia deepens. Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was stormed and set alight by angry protesters on Saturday, following the execution of Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others. Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response, followed by its allies Bahrain and Sudan. The BBC reports: 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.
Hours ago, in the latest sign that tensions between Riyadh and Tehran are set to spiral into a full blown diplomatic crisis of historic proportions, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Ahmad Al-Jubeir announced that the kingdom has cut diplomatic ties with the Iranians. The Iran mission was ordered to leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours.
Al-Jubeir went on to accuse Iran of stoking sectarian violence in the region (a contention that represents the worst kind of hypocrisy) and suggested Riyadh may need to do more to counter the expansion of Iranian influence.
Earlier today, as Iranian police struggled to disperse protesters gathered outside the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, we said the following about the rapidly deteriorating situation:
Iranian protesters are seen on social media storming Saudi missions in Iran after Saudi Arabia executed Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shi’ite Muslim cleric, and 46 other prisoners. Haaretz reports: Demonstrators broke into Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran before being cleared away by the police, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported, after gathering there to denounce the kingdom for executing the cleric. Images shared on social media showed Iranian protesters starting fires at the embassy building. One photograph showed a room with smashed furniture purportedly inside the building.