Oil and gold prices rise on Middle East tensions

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who announced the decision to eject the Iranians, said late on Sunday that his people would no longer deal with “a country that supports terrorism and sectarianism”.

Iranian riot police block a street leading to the Saudi embassy as protesters hold portraits of prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration against his execution by Saudi authorities, on January 3, 2016, in Tehran.

It said relations should be based on “mutual respect for the sovereignty” and “non-interference in the internal affairs of others”.

In 2015, Islamic State militants took advantage of the Saudi sectarian fault-lines and struck Shiite mosques in the Eastern Province.

Meanwhile, Bahrain also announced it would cut diplomatic ties with Iran, calling on all Bahrainis in Iran to leave the country within 48 hours as it planned to close its diplomatic missions there. Saudi Arabia is the biggest member by output in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, while Iran is the fifth-largest in the group.

The state-run news agency of the United Arab Emirates says the country is downgrading its diplomatic relations with Iran.

To the greater world, however, the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr took on a different appearance.

Saudi Arabia broke off relations on Sunday after a mob stormed its embassy in Tehran. Protesters in Tehran set fire to the Saudi Embassy and the kingdom cut diplomatic relations with Iran, its Shi’ite regional rival.

“We condemn the crimes of al-Saud, but we don’t consider attacking the Saudi Embassy or Consulate an appropriate act”, he said, referring to the House of Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ruling family.

In Baghdad on Monday, demonstrators carrying portraits of Nimr rallied outside the Green Zone, a heavily fortified district that houses government departments and diplomatic representations, including the newly reopened Saudi embassy.

Al-Nimr’s death was a dramatic step because Saudi Arabia has rarely resorted to the death penalty in dealing with unrest among its Shiite minority, which has long complained of discrimination in the Sunni-led kingdom.

“More recently, there have been direct concerns raised by USA officials to Saudi officials about the potential damaging consequences of following through on mass executions, in particular, the execution of al-Nimr, political opposition figure, but also the religious leader”, he said. Iran also has backed Shiite rebels in Yemen known as Houthis.

United Nations deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said de Mistura “hopes that the adverse consequences of the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran do not affect the peace process with the Syrians”. But tensions between the two powers stretch back decades and are rooted in intense ideological and strategic competition.

Seibert stressed that “it is in the interest of Germany to have dialogue with Saudi Arabia …” The sheikh’s brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, told The Associated Press that Saudi officials informed his family that the cleric had been buried in an undisclosed cemetery, a development that could lead to further protests.