The state-run Saudi Press Agency reports that staff at the Iranian Embassy in Riyadh and the Iranian Consulate in Jiddah had left the country.
Advertisement
In response, Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic ties with Iran and suspended flights to and from the country.
Iraq’s government also straddles diplomatic alliances: holding close ties with Iran and with the United States and its allies as part of the fight against the Islamic State, whose strongholds include the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iranian diplomats had 48 hours to leave.
“We have solid relations with the Islamic Republic (Iran) … and also we have relations with our Arab brothers and therefore we can not stay silent in this crisis”, Jaafari told the join press conference.
The weekend protests were in response to Riyadh’s execution of leading Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a driving force behind Shiite protests in 2011.
The execution resulted in a sharp aggravation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran where violent protests took place with demonstrators trying to set the embassy of Saudi Arabia on fire.
The distrust between the USA and Saudi Arabia appeared to reach new heights last summer with the announcement of a diplomatic deal created to limit Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
“This could turn out to be something that further inflames the region”, according to Robert Jordan, a former USA ambassador to Saudi Arabia. “The attacks on the Saudi embassy and consulate constitute a flagrant violation of global conventions”, the spokesman said.
Bahrain said yesterday it had uncovered an Iranian-linked cell plotting attacks in the Gulf island kingdom, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported.
Meanwhile Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of Shiite protesters marched in Sitra, south of Bahrain’s capital, Manama, over al-Nimr’s execution.
Several Saudi allies have rallied the kingdom’s side, with a number of nations following its lead in either cutting or reducing diplomatic ties with Iran.
Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry has said that it summoned the Saudi charge d’affaires to reiterate its opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances after a mass execution in the kingdom.
“One of the key things on his mind is deescalate the tensions, restore some sense of calm, encourage dialogue and engagement between these countries, but also to make the point there are other pressing issues in the region”, Kirby said.
The furor over Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shi’ite cleric has stripped almost 8 percent off the price of oil in the last three trading days, killing speculation that OPEC members might agree to production cuts to lift prices.
Advertisement
Iran warned Saudi Arabia yesterday to stop working against it as their diplomatic crisis intensified despite efforts to defuse a row that has raised fears of greater regional instability.
