Iranian and Turkish demonstrators hold pictures of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as they protest outside the Saudi Embassy in Ankara, on January 3, 2016, to protest against the execution by Saudi Arabia of a prominent Shia cleric which they saw as a deliberate sectarian aggression. PHOTO: AFP
Iranian protesters had stormed the Saudi embassy in the early hours of Sunday after Saudi Arabia executed a Shia cleric, prompting Riyadh to withdraw its diplomatic staff and order Iranian diplomats to leave the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran: foreign minister
"Iran... is committed to provide diplomatic security based on international conventions. But Saudi Arabia, which thrives on tensions, has used this incident as an excuse to fuel the tensions," ministry spokeseperson Hossein Jaberi Ansari said in televised remarks.
Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir announced Sunday that Saudi Arabia was severing diplomatic ties with Iran after demonstrators stormed its Tehran embassy to protest against Riyadh’s execution of a Shia cleric.
Jubeir also said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours.
Saudi Arabia says 47 executed on terror charges, including top Shia cleric
Saudi Arabia “is breaking off diplomatic ties with Iran and requests that all members of the Iranian diplomatic mission leave… within 48 hours,” he told a news conference.
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