Saudi Arabia has cut the February price of its export oil to Europe as the OPEC heavyweight continues to fight for market share amid a huge glut on the market.
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Riyadh and some of its allies, including Bahrain and Djibouti, have also cut off diplomatic ties with Iran after the Saudi embassy there was ransacked by protesters.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia, the main Sunni power, and Shiite-dominated Iran have erupted into a full-blown diplomatic crisis, sparking widespread worries of regional instability.
The United Nations has urged both sides to reduce tensions.
Earlier in the day, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League expressed support for Saudi Arabia’s fight against terrorism and condemned the attacks on Saudi diplomatic premises.
The escalation of tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran against the backdrop of the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia cleric could negatively rebound on the efforts for establishing a peace process in Syria, analysts here said. On Monday, Saudi Arabia formerly severed diplomatic ties with Iran, and were joined by Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Sudan.
A statement from the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said its ambassador to Tehran was being recalled because of the “torching and sabotage” of the Saudi facilities in Iran.
The Saudi authorities should have not responded to the criticisms of al-Nimr by beheading him, Rouhani said in a meeting with visiting Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen.
Several allies of Saudi Arabia followed the kingdom’s lead and on Monday scaled back diplomatic ties to Iran. Government spokesman Mohammad Bagher called the attack “suspicious” and “in favor of Saudi Arabia’s policies”.
Yesterday, Kuwait announced the recalling of its ambassador in a statement carried on the state-run Kuwait News Agency.
President Hassan Rouhani has referred to the embassy attackers as extremists and said Iran should put an end to attacking embassies once and forever.
Zarif said Iran “wants no tension in the region and would always welcome dialogue with its neighbours”. De Mistura is also expected in Iran later this week and in Damascus on Saturday, UN sources said.
Following the Saudi government’s announcement that it had executed 47 prisoners including al-Nimr, the US State Department did two things.
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The nuclear deal struck last July between Iran and five other world powers was seen as a diplomatic triumph by its authors but it was vehemently opposed by Israel.
