Kuwait recalls ambassador from Iran over Saudi rift

The UAE said it plans to cut down on diplomatic ties with Iran, while Sudan and Bahrain cut off links with the country.

The UN Security Council has also strongly condemned the attack, urging Iranian authorities “to protect diplomatic and consular property and personnel, and to respect fully their worldwide obligations in this regard”. Many countries have taken sides, along sectarian lines – with predominantly Shiite nations like Iran condemning it, while those with mostly Sunni Muslims standing behind Saudi Arabia. This prompted protestors in Shia-dominated Iran to storm the Saudi embassy in Teheran, an action that wasn’t apparently encouraged by the government.

Kuwait has become the latest country to side with Saudi Arabia in its escalating tension with Iran, which stemmed from the execution of a Shiite cleric and led to an attack against the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

In particular, the Saudi embassy in the capital Tehran and the consulate in the city of Mashhad were attacked, after which Riyadh broke off diplomatic ties with Tehran on January 3.

“One of the key things on his mind is deescalate the tensions, restore some sense of calm, encourage dialogue and engagement between these countries, but also to make the point there are other pressing issues in the region”, Kirby said.

The President of Iran, a country that has been criticized over its over human rights record, called on other countries outside the region to also take a stand.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran and described the attacks as “unacceptable”.

“(The U.N.) will be pushing forward and very much hoping that the current tensions will not impact negatively on the two peace processes”, Dujarric said. But the prospect of the talks making any progress must now be non-existent, with Iran, which has invested heavily in propping up the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, declaring it seeks “divine revenge” against Saudi Arabia for executing Nimr.

However, officials said the administration is loath to insert itself but wants to ensure the viability of the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, nascent attempts to end Syria’s civil war, peace efforts in Yemen and the Iran nuclear deal. The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, rushed to Riyadh in a bid to defuse tensions.

The president added that Iran is interested in developing bilateral ties with neighboring countries.

Iran, a world leader in executions, political imprisonments and sponsorship of terrorism, has little standing to protest Saudi violations of human rights.

The revelation comes after Saudi executed 47 alleged terrorists including the prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr sparking fury across the globe.