Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran over attacks after sheikh’s execution
Allies of Saudi Arabia have followed suit and cut ties with the Islamic Republic including Bahrain and Sudan. “For us it is not possible to support capital punishment by any country”, Kurtulmus told a news conference.
Riyadh’s execution on Saturday of the cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, and three other Shi’ites on terrorism charges along with dozens of Sunni jihadists have stirred up protracted Middle East rivalries and driven up tension across the region.
The Obama administration tread warily Monday around inflamed tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia that threaten several key USA foreign policy objectives.
Iran’s oil production has always been reined in by sanctions, but the country is eager to ramp up its output.
The execution of Sheikh Nimr sparked angry protests in various countries.
The sharp escalation between the Sunni and Shiite powerhouses came after the ransacking of the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and the attack on a consulate elsewhere in Iran – violence that erupted in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric over the weekend. That diplomatic freeze saw Iran halt pilgrims from attending the hajj in Saudi Arabia, something required of all able Muslims once in their lives.
“Hopefully they will continue to engage”, Earnest said.
United Nations deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said de Mistura “hopes that the adverse consequences of the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran do not affect the peace process with the Syrians”.
The White House on Monday urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to not let their dispute derail efforts to end the Syrian civil war.
Early Monday, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said a shooting targeting security forces in the village killed a man and wounded a child.