Kuwait recalls ambassador to Iran amid Saudi tensions

Kuwait became the latest country to recall its ambassador from Iran on Tuesday, as protesters in Iran and Iraq marched for a third day in protest at Saudi Arabia’s execution of a dissident Shia cleric.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of Gulf Arab states says it will hold an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on Saturday to discuss tensions with Iran after attacks on Saudi missions there.

He was referring to the execution for “terrorism” Saturday of Nimr al-Nimr, who had been behind anti-government protests among Saudi Arabia’s Shiite Muslim minority.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia, the main Sunni power, and Shiite-dominated Iran have erupted this week into a full-blown diplomatic crisis, sparking widespread worries of regional instability.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran, on Monday, to protest against Saudi Arabia’s execution of top Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Saudi Arabia cut ties to Iran after attacks on two of its diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic following al-Nimr’s execution.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that Riyadh can not hide the “crime” of killing a religious cleric by severing diplomatic ties with Tehran.

Commerce between Iran and the countries that have severed relations is low, according to official figures released todayby economic daily Donaye Eghtesad.

Saudi UN ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi said on Monday that the dispute could be resolved if Iran stopped “interfering in the affairs of other countries, including our own”. But the royal families’ allies, beginning with the United States, should be asking whether the Salman court is checking Iran’s expansionism, as it contends, or sowing chaos in an already-stricken region while undermining itself.

Saudi Arabia “will attend the next Syria talks and we are not going to boycott them because of Iran”, he said, even as he took a swipe at Iran’s role in the peace negotations.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement that the decision was taken following “the storming, torching and sabotage activities carried out by a group of demonstrators on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its Consulate in Mashhad”.

“As a country which has friendly relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia, we believe that both countries should show restraint”.

Saudi insists peace efforts in those countries should not be affected by the spat but criticised Iran’s contribution to the process. Iran, a staunch supporter of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the opposition, have participated in three rounds of global talks aimed at ending the conflict.