Thousands of protesters marched in Baghdad and Shi’ite cities in southern Iraq, heeding calls by prominent Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to protest against al-Nimr’s execution.
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The spark for Sunday’s attacks appears to have been Nimr’s execution a day earlier, which triggered angry reactions in Shi’ite-ruled Iraq and Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said on Monday night it was cutting all air links with Iran after Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Following the execution on Saturday of 47 convicts by the Saudi authorities – including al-Nimr – Iranian protestors stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad.
Saudi Arabia cut ties after Iran protested its execution of a prominent opposition Shiite cleric and crowds attacked its diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic.
Dujarric said Ban told Jubeir that Saudi Arabia should “renew its commitment to a ceasefire” in Yemen.
Mr Ellwood said: “I am deeply disturbed by the escalation in tensions in the last 24 hours in the Middle East”. “This is the Saudis saying: ‘There is no limit to how far we will go'”.
The split between the two countries follows Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday.
CNN reported that al-Nimr was a fervent dissident against the Sunni Muslim Saudi royal family who called for their deposal during the Arab spring uprisings back in 2011.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced the cut in relations late Sunday and gave Iranian diplomatic personnel 48 hours to leave his country.
“They have been taking provocative and negative positions. and I don’t think the break in relations is going to dissuade them from such behavior”.
Crude importer China declared itself “highly concerned” with the developments, in a rare foray into Middle East diplomacy. Along with Israel, though not in coordination with, Saudi Arabia was a major opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, worrying it would make its rival more powerful at its expense.
Bahraini officials have since accused Iran of training militants and attempting to smuggle arms into the country, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Both Iran and Saudi Arabia have a crucial role in the diplomatic push to end the almost five-year war in Syria and to bring about a political settlement for Yemen. Both Sudan and Bahrain have ended all relations with Iran while the United Arab Emirates, which boasts a significant Iranian population, has reduced its links with Iran.
Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based seat of Sunni Muslim learning, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Saudi Arabia, condemned the attacks on Riyadh’s missions and stressed Tehran’s obligation to respect the internal affairs of the kingdom.
He also says that “it appears that protection (of pilgrims) and security issues will prevent hajj from taking place”.
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Western powers sought to calm the tensions. “If necessary, Moscow is willing to play a mediator role between the countries”.
