Saudi Arabia just gave Shiites their own Che Guevara

Iran strongly condemned the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, there were mass protests in the country, in particular, Saudi embassy in the capital Tehran and the consulate in the city of Mashhad were attacked.

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.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Sudan have taken steps to downgrade their diplomatic relations with Iran..

“The Saudis have lost faith in the United States to protect them and to be a counterweight against Iran’s influence”, said Jordan, who recently wrote a book about his experience.

Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are due to attend the next round of Syria peace talks in Geneva on January 25. Jafari referred to the execution of the cleric, Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, as a “crime” – a comment that is certain to anger Saudi leaders. Nimr spoke against the atrocities conducted by the Saudi Arabian government against its own citizens, and for that he paid the ultimate price.

On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry reached out to both the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to calm tensions, fearing the clash between the two power brokers could see US efforts to bring peace to Syria crumble.

He said the Iranians had been “taking provocative and negative positions… and I don’t think the break in relations is going to dissuade them from such behaviour”.

Russian Federation also has offered itself as a potential mediator, though it’s unclear whether Saudi or Iranian officials have responded to the proposal.

He went on to add that the Saudi regime intends to cover up its domestic issues and recent defeats in the region, as well as exerting pressure on Iran, saying Saudi government’s regional policies have been moving toward aggression, spreading terrorism and destabilizing the region.

According to Amnesty International, the government of Saudi Arabia gave a death sentence to Nimr for “disobeying the ruler”, “inciting sectarian strife” and “encouraging, leading and participating in demonstrations” after a deeply flawed and appalling trial. Egypt cut ties with Iran in 1989.

The Swiss ministry, in a statement dated on Monday, said that “these mass executions risk reviving the confessional tensions which have already caused far too many victims in this region of the world”.

The diplomatic ruction has sparked global concern, with the United Nations chief telling Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir that that break was “deeply worrying”.

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