Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran after the embassy protest, recalling its diplomats from the Islamic republic and giving Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.
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Bahrain and Sudan have both severed relations with Iran, and the UAE has downgraded its diplomatic team.
Iran is the world’s main Shia Muslim power while Saudi Arabia is a leading Sunni Muslim country, and they back opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemeni conflicts.
Saudi Arabia executed Nimr and three other Shia Muslims on terrorism charges on Saturday, alongside dozens of Sunni jihadists.
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On the 11th of October, 2011, the Iranian government was accused of allegedly plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, Adel al-Jubeir, in the United States.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani condemned the execution as “inhuman”, but also urged the prosecution of “extremist individuals” for attacking the embassy and the Saudi consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura is visiting Saudi Arabia and Tehran this week on a preplanned visit, while U.N. Yemen mediator, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, is to return to the region on Thursday, Dujarric said.
Saudi Arabia previously cut air traffic with Iran, and said that it intends to cut all commercial ties.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry called the Iranian ambassador to the Saudi capital Riyadh to protest Iran’s “aggressive” statements, which it called “blatant interference in the kingdom’s affairs”, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
“There have been direct concerns raised by United States officials to Saudi officials about the potential damaging consequences of following through on the execution, on mass executions, in particular, the execution of” al-Nimr, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday.
“Saudi Arabia is a police state”, Elmenyawi said.
Saudi Arabia retaliated by cutting diplomatic ties with Iran.
“The global community and the main regional actors are actively working together to support a political solution for the crisis in Syria and to join forces against terrorist groups, and these efforts should not be jeopardized by new instability”, Mogherini said.
Iran’s supreme leader said Saudi politicians will face “divine vengeance” for killing the cleric.
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Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a warning on his website, saying the execution “will cause serious troubles for the politicians of this [Saudi] regime in a very short time…”
