Saudi Arabia, allies sever ties with Iran

De Mistura has set a January 25 target date for a fourth round of talks.

The statement was released after the envoy met with the Saudi foreign minister in Riyadh. However, Iran is more closely aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Previous year it joined Saudi Arabia’s coalition against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, sending troops to join the campaign to restore Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Riyadh’s ousted ally.

An early battleground was Bahrain, where the Shiite majority staged mass protests in 2011 demanding political reforms from the Sunni monarchy.

The civil aviation department of Bahrain’s Transport Ministry said it would take steps to minimize any inconvenience for travelers who have prior reservations.

In this case, US officials said they privately pressed the Saudis to leave Nimr, convicted two years ago of promoting terrorism because of his support for dissidents among the kingdom’s Shiite minority, out of their execution plans.

Turkey’s relations with Saudi Arabia have warmed considerably in recent months and in December President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Riyadh for talks with King Salman and the entire Saudi elite.

Faisal J. Abbas, the editor-in-chief of Al-Arabiya English, told The Associated Press that the attack only affected the broadcaster’s website and that employees were still working on the problem. Iran said at least 464 of its pilgrims were killed and blamed Saudi “incompetence”.

“We did not wish what happened in Iran against the Saudi embassy”.

He adds that, “undoubtedly, such actions can’t cover up that big crime”.

The fallout threatens to destabilise the entire Middle East after Iran, which mainly adheres to the Shia branch of Islam, said Sunni-run Saudi would face “divine vengeance”.

Shia Iran accused Saudi Arabia of using the attack on the embassy as an “excuse” to sever ties and further increase sectarian tensions.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to break off diplomatic ties with Iran will not affect its own efforts to secure peace in Syria and Yemen, the kingdom’s ambassador to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, said on Monday. Bahrain and Sudan followed suit Monday while the United Arab Emirates downgraded relations with Iran.

An angry crowd was able to break into the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital on Sunday but an attack on the Saudi consulate general in Mashhad was prevented by security forces.

Kerry has held several rounds of diplomatic talks with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies that have expressed concern that an empowered sanctions-free Iran could be destabilizing to the region.

Egypt’s foreign minister has denounced the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran as “unacceptable”. Riyadh has said Shia Iran was behind the uprising, an accusation denied by protesters.

Saudi Arabia has supported Egypt as it struggles with a growing insurgency and economic downturn. Egypt cut ties with Iran in 1989.

“We believe that diplomatic engagement and direct conversations remain essential”, he said. “So while we continue to make all efforts to facilitate dialogue, the emphasis is on local leadership to work through their differences and find the best path forward through this tension”.

It stressed the importance of doing everything to lower those tensions and “avoid provocations”.

The inclusion of Nimr among the 47 executed Saturday came as a surprise to the administration.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have had tense diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, although there have been occasional thaws.