Iran President Criticizes Saudi Arabia Over Severing Ties

On Monday, Bahrain and Sudan announced severing of relations with Iran citing Tehran’s intervention in Arab affairs.

Kuwait has become the latest country to downgrade its relations with Iran after recalling its ambassador, in a widening regional crisis over the execution of a Saudi Shia cleric and the ensuing attack on the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran.

On Tuesday, Kuwait announced the recalling of its ambassador in a statement carried on the state-run Kuwait News Agency, without elaborating.

Camerota then asked if America actually has any “clout” and influence to get the two rivals to engage in diplomacy if Riyadh ignored Washington’s warnings to not execute Nimr al-Nimr, the Shiite cleric.

Jaberi Ansari, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said his country is committed to protecting diplomatic missions and reiterated that no Saudi diplomats were harmed – or even present – during the attack.

“Not letting the Vienna process stall or fall backward is clearly top on his list”, he said, referring to talks in the Austrian capital that brought Saudi and Iranian officials together to try to end the Syrian war.

The comments appeared to be the first such criticism of the embassy attack by a member of the hardline Guards, who issued a harsh statement against Saudi Arabia about the execution of al-Nimr on Saturday.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon phoned the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran to urge both countries to avoid actions that could further exacerbate tensions, according to his spokesperson’s office.

Al-Jubeir said that the cleric and the 46 others executed had received open and fair trials that had been through the courts of appeal and reviewed by the Saudi Supreme Court.

“It is the responsibility of states to provide full safety and security to all diplomatic Missions and their personnel”. Bahrain and Sudan cut all ties with Iran, following Riyadh’s example the previous day.

Tehran has consistently denied those charges and itself has accused Riyadh of supporting militancy through its backing of Islamist rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Tiny Kuwait is home to both Shiites and Sunnis living in peace and has the most free-wheeling political system among all Gulf nations.

Shiite Iran hailed him as a “martyr” and warned Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family of “divine revenge”.

A government spokesman has called the storming “suspicious”.

Protesters angered over Nimr’s execution attacked and burned the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad, which prompted Riyadh to sever diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.