Saudis sever ties with Iran over embassy, mission attacks
Saudi Arabia has severed diplomatic ties with regional rivalIran following attacks on the kingdom’s embassy and consulate in the Islamic Republic over the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced the cut in relations late on Sunday and gave Iranian diplomatic personnel 48 hours to leave his country. All Saudi diplomatic personnel in Iran have been called home after an attack on the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and a consulate. The decision came after the mass execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others the largest carried out by Saudi Arabia in three and a half decades laid bare the sectarian divisions gripping the region. Shiite protesters took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan while Arab allies of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia quickly lined up behind the kingdom. The standoff illustrates the kingdom’s new aggressiveness under King Salman. During his reign, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yem...