Saudi Arabia says it has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran, amid a row over the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was speaking after demonstrators had stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others were executed on Saturday after being convicted of terror-related offences.
Mr Jubeir said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours.
Saudi Arabia was recalling its diplomats from Tehran, he said.
Mr Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would not let Iran undermine its security, accusing it of having “distributed weapons and planted terrorist cells in the region”.
“Iran’s history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction,” he claimed a news conference.
US state department spokesman John Kirby said: “We will continue to urge leaders across the region to take affirmative steps to calm tensions”.
“We believe that diplomatic engagement and direct conversations remain essential,” he said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted a tribute to a prominent Shi’ite executed by Saudi Arabia on Saturday, adding his voice to a chorus of condemnation in Iran and beyond.
“Awakening is not suppressible,” read the tweet on Khamenei’s English-language Twitter account, next to a photograph of Nimr.
Six major European countries announced on Friday that they would join a special trade exchange designed to alleviate the impact of the US sanctions on Iran. Belgium, Denmark, Finland,...
China, Iran to forge closer ties due to common threat from United States, analysts say
French minister criticises US over ‘unanswered’ Iran attacks
Islam has the best argument in support of human rights: Judiciary chief
UN adopts eight resolutions in condemnation of Israeli crimes in Palestine
Trump’s maximum pressure policy on Iran has backfired and experts say it will fail
S. Korea’s exports of humanitarian goods to Iran effectively halted after U.S. sanctions
Copyright © 2013 Real Iran. powered by Wordpress.