Saudis cut ties with Iran following Shiite cleric execution

[webfact]

Saudis cut ties with Iran following Shiite cleric execution
By AMIR VAHDAT and JON GAMBRELL

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Saudi Arabia announced Sunday it was severing diplomatic relations with Shiite powerhouse Iran amid escalating tensions over the Sunni kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

The move came hours after demonstrators stormed and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in protest over the death of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iranian diplomatic personnel had 48 hours to leave his country and all Saudi diplomatic personnel in Iran had been recalled home.

The mass execution of al-Nimr and 46 others — the largest carried out by Saudi Arabia in three and a half decades — has laid bare the divisions gripping the Middle East, where demonstrators took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan in protest over the outspoken cleric's death.

It also illustrates the kingdom's new aggressiveness under King Salman. During his reign, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen and staunchly opposed regional Shiite power Iran, even as Tehran struck a nuclear deal with world powers.


Iran's top leader warned Saudi Arabia on Sunday of "divine revenge" over al-Nimr's death, while Riyadh accused Tehran of supporting "terrorism" in an escalating war of words that threatened to intensify even as the U.S. and the European Union sought to calm the region.

Al-Nimr was a central figure in Arab Spring-inspired protests by Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority until his arrest in 2012. He was convicted of terrorism charges but denied advocating violence.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia put al-Nimr and three other Shiite dissidents to death, along with a number of al-Qaida militants. Al-Nimr's execution drew protests from Shiites around the world, who backed his call for reform and wider political freedom for their sect.

While the split between Sunnis and Shiites dates back to the early days of Islam and disagreements over the successor to Prophet Muhammad, those divisions have only grown as they intertwine with regional politics, with both Iran and Saudi Arabia vying to be the Mideast's top power.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of supporting terrorism in part because it backs Syrian rebel groups fighting to oust its embattled ally, President Bashar Assad. Riyadh points to Iran's backing of the Lebanese Hezbollah and other Shiite militant groups in the region as a sign of its support for terrorism. Iran also has backed Shiite rebels in Yemen known as Houthis.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned al-Nimr's execution, saying Sunday the cleric "neither invited people to take up arms nor hatched covert plots. The only thing he did was public criticism."

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saudi Arabia's "medieval act of savagery" would lead to the "downfall" of the country's monarchy.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said that by condemning the execution, Iran had "revealed its true face represented in support for terrorism."

In Tehran, a protest outside the Saudi Embassy early Sunday quickly grew violent as protesters threw stones and gasoline bombs at the embassy, setting part of the building ablaze, according to Gen. Hossein Sajedinia, the country's top police official, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Forty people were arrested and investigators were pursuing other suspects, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned Saudi Arabia's execution of al-Nimr, but also branded those who attacked the Saudi Embassy as "extremists."

"It is unjustifiable," he said in a statement.

Hundreds of protesters later demonstrated in front of the embassy and in a central Tehran square, where street signs near the embassy were replaced with ones bearing the slain sheikh's name.

The disruption in relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran may have implications for peace efforts in Syria. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and others spent significant time trying to bring the countries to the negotiating table and they both sat together at talks aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the civil war. Last month, Saudi Arabia convened a meeting of Syrian opposition figures that was designed to create a delegation to attend peace talks with the Syrian government that are supposed to begin in mid-January.

Across the region, demonstrators took to the streets in protest over the execution of al-Nimr.

In Bahrain, police fired tear gas and birdshot at demonstrators on Sitra Island, south of the capital, Manama, wounding some. In al-Daih, west of the capital, Shiite protesters chanted against Saudi Arabia's ruling Al Saud family, as well as against Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa family.

In Beirut, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called al-Nimr "the martyr, the holy warrior," while protests erupted from Turkey to India to Pakistan.

Western powers sought to calm the tensions. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the U.S. condemned the embassy attack and called on all sides "to avoid any actions that would further heighten tensions in the region."

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif by phone and urged Tehran to "defuse the tensions and protect the Saudi diplomats," according to a statement.

The cleric's execution has threatened to complicate Saudi Arabia's relationship with the Shiite-led government in Iraq, where the Saudi Embassy is preparing to formally reopen for the first time in nearly 25 years. On Saturday there were calls for the embassy to be shut down again.

Iran and Saudi Arabia summoned each other's envoys for consultations, and Saudi allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates summoned Iranian officials in their capitals over the Tehran embassy assault.

Meanwhile, al-Nimr's family prepared for three days of mourning at a mosque in al-Awamiya in the kingdom's al-Qatif region in predominantly Shiite eastern Saudi Arabia. The sheikh's brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, told The Associated Press that Saudi officials informed his family that the cleric had been buried in an undisclosed cemetery, a development that could lead to further protests.
___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Joseph Krauss and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo, Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad, Reem Khalifa in Manama, Bahrain, Brian Rohan in Beirut, and Tom Strong and Mattew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-01-04

[Somtamnication]

Stupid thing to do was to kill this guy. Iranians, we know, will never stop invading embassies.

If muslims cannot get along with each other over a 1500 year old spat, no one else has a chance to make peace with either of their sects.

[ukrules]

"Saudis cut ties......."

They really like cutting things don't they. This time it's 'ties' the other day it was heads, what's next I wonder ?

[Credo]

There is no shortage of enemies or things to fight about in that part of the world.

[ezzra]

Good news, let the Sunnis and Shiites be at war with each other and leave Israel alone. or better yet< Israel and Saudis can form an alliance now that Iran if the common enemy, as the adage goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend....

[thaibeachlovers]

So, old men with stupid hats in Iran challenge old men with bits of cloth on their heads in Saudi. Of course it will be young men that die, but no matter to the old crocks that run those countries as long as their power is unchallenged.

What a sad world we live in.

[pmk1000]

The most bizarre statement is "The U.S. and the European Union sought to calm the region" What a joke, that is certainly a change of policy! since when have they ever tried to calm anything in the middle east?

[Stargeezr]

Wonderful, Saudi Arabia and Iran having more reasons to hate each other.

Will we have to worry about rockets flying from one of these countries to the other?

I am confused just who to cheer for. This stuff will never be over in our life times.

Just wonder what will be happening next.

Geezer

[Mr Moo]

I think it's time for an alien invasion, maybe different religions and cultures would finally work together for the salvation of mankind

[Credo]

Wonderful, Saudi Arabia and Iran having more reasons to hate each other.

Will we have to worry about rockets flying from one of these countries to the other?

I am confused just who to cheer for. This stuff will never be over in our life times.

Just wonder what will be happening next.

Geezer

It's no problem. I would cheer for both sides. That way I can't lose.

If they have a confrontation, they will both be selling more oil and the price will drop further.

It's always a problem when both sides think God is on their side.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Credo

[oneday]

The only thing good to say about Saudi Arabia is they do not like Iran.

The only thing good to say about Iran is they do not like Saudi Arabia.

Let them focus on each other and forget the west.

[Credo]

Any war will be with fought with rockets. The Saudi's have too much money and have no real taste for fighting. The Saudi's will rely on the West to do the heavy lifting, just like in the first Gulf War.

The Iranians on the other hand have a large population of young people whom they can whip up in a frenzy fairly easily.

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been removed.

Make that two posts.

[elgordo38]

Stupid thing to do was to kill this guy. Iranians, we know, will never stop invading embassies.

If muslims cannot get along with each other over a 1500 year old spat, no one else has a chance to make peace with either of their sects.

Yes America keeps trying to play mediator to no avail. Time to pack up and go home and let the locals sort it out. They always do. Democracy is not for everyone as we are fast learning. Democracy is not a fit all suit. Cultural roots can trump them from time to time.

Edited January 4, 2016 by elgordo38

[elgordo38]

"Saudis cut ties......."

They really like cutting things don't they. This time it's 'ties' the other day it was heads, what's next I wonder ?

The sure fail to take in some of the downtrodden Muslims in the world today. Only Christians are doing that. Lets hope in the future it does not backfire and come back to haunt us. I would look terrible in a turban.

[elgordo38]

Wonderful, Saudi Arabia and Iran having more reasons to hate each other.

Will we have to worry about rockets flying from one of these countries to the other?

I am confused just who to cheer for. This stuff will never be over in our life times.

Just wonder what will be happening next.

Geezer

Grab some popcorn and a beer and sit down and Fox News will spin it out for you to understand.

[elgordo38]

I think it's time for an alien invasion, maybe different religions and cultures would finally work together for the salvation of mankind

I think they are already here watching us make a fool out of ourselves. No sense landing and saying "Take me to your leader" whoever that might be. They have put their ray guns on stun. With a little luck there will be no one left to stun. Society keeps reminding me of those buildings that implode and gently fall to the ground. At that is left is dust which is what the bible says we are all made of and will return to.

[elgordo38]

The only thing good to say about Saudi Arabia is they do not like Iran.

The only thing good to say about Iran is they do not like Saudi Arabia.

Let them focus on each other and forget the west.

Did you mean the rest and not the west? A typo possibly?

[canman]

Wonderful, Saudi Arabia and Iran having more reasons to hate each other.

Will we have to worry about rockets flying from one of these countries to the other?

I am confused just who to cheer for. This stuff will never be over in our life times.

Just wonder what will be happening next.

Geezer

It's no problem. I would cheer for both sides. That way I can't lose.

If they have a confrontation, they will both be selling more oil and the price will drop further.

It's always a problem when both sides think God is on their side.

If they have a serious confrontation the price of oil will definately increase substantially. That would be a win for me and also bring back several hundred thousand jobs in the oil industry which have disappeared in the last year.

[elgordo38]

Any war will be with fought with rockets. The Saudi's have too much money and have no real taste for fighting. The Saudi's will rely on the West to do the heavy lifting, just like in the first Gulf War.

The Iranians on the other hand have a large population of young people whom they can whip up in a frenzy fairly easily.

Yes sacrifice the young innocent lives so the old Ayatollahs are left to keep spouting their poison. Seems the Iraqi war was along the same plane.

[Scott]

Wonderful, Saudi Arabia and Iran having more reasons to hate each other.

Will we have to worry about rockets flying from one of these countries to the other?

I am confused just who to cheer for. This stuff will never be over in our life times.

Just wonder what will be happening next.

Geezer

It's no problem. I would cheer for both sides. That way I can't lose.

If they have a confrontation, they will both be selling more oil and the price will drop further.

It's always a problem when both sides think God is on their side.

If they have a serious confrontation the price of oil will definately increase substantially. That would be a win for me and also bring back several hundred thousand jobs in the oil industry which have disappeared in the last year.

Yes, I guess your right. The price of oil rose slightly today because of the tension in the ME.

Depending on how it all goes, if they end up fighting, they will be selling oil at breakneck speed to fund their military actions. Iran has little money and Saudi is facing financial shortfalls.

War is good for oil prices, tension isn't.

[i claudius]

Go to it boys, wipe each other off the face of the earth

[Mr Moo]

Wonderful, Saudi Arabia and Iran having more reasons to hate each other.

Will we have to worry about rockets flying from one of these countries to the other?

I am confused just who to cheer for. This stuff will never be over in our life times.

Just wonder what will be happening next.

Geezer

It's no problem. I would cheer for both sides. That way I can't lose.

If they have a confrontation, they will both be selling more oil and the price will drop further.

It's always a problem when both sides think God is on their side.

A war between Saudi and Iran will definitely drive up oil prices.

The Iranians will simply shutdown the Strait of Hormuz (they've done it before) and pick off selected vessels.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the Trans Arabian pipeline (Saudi to Lebanon) was shutdown many years ago and never replaced.

Iran are only just now starting to export oil for the first time in years and plans are in place for a cross country pipeline but not there yet.

[zydeco]

The most bizarre statement is "The U.S. and the European Union sought to calm the region" What a joke, that is certainly a change of policy! since when have they ever tried to calm anything in the middle east?

After the Iran Nuclear deal, I don't think the Saudis are willing to listen to anything that Obama and the Europeans have to say. What a mess Obama-Clinton-Kerry have left the world in. America's enemies running amok and now about to obliterate each other.