Saudi, Other Middle East Countries Cut Ties with Iran after Shia Muslim Cleric Execution

Jan 04, 2016 09:05 AM EST

(Photo : GETTY IMAGES / Andalou Agency / Stringer) JANUARY 3: Iranian women hold posters of Nimr Baqir al-Nimr during a protest rally outside the embassy of Saudi Arabia against the execution of prominent Saudi Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by Saudi authorities, in Tehran, Iran on January 2016.

Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East cut their ties with Iran after the execution of a Shia Muslim cleric sparked a protest in an embassy in Iran.

Last week, Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran to protest the execution of Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al Nimr in Riyadh. On Monday, Iran accused Saudi Arabia of using the recent protest as an excuse to cut their ties amidst a worsening diplomatic crisis in the Middle East, according to Reuters.

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Sheik Nimr al-Nimr was executed on Saturday along with 46 other individuals convicted of Al-Qaeda activities in the last ten years, BBC News reports.

Bahrain also severed its ties, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) downgraded its ties with Iran. The issue worsened the struggle for religious influence between the Sunni and Shi'ite powers and caused oil prices to spike across the region, the report details.

Last Saturday, the protesters burned the Saudi embassy in Tehran, but the police was able to fight them off and no diplomats were hurt in the incident. On Sunday, two Sunni mosques the province of Hilla in Iraq were bombed and a man was killed in Saudi Arabia when security officers were attacked.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iran had created "terrorist cells" within the Shi'ite minority of the kingdom. Iran, on the other hand, accused Riyadh of using the embassy protest as an excuse to heighten the tension in the region, the report details.

"Iran's history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction," Jubeir said in a press conference.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had earlier threatened a "divine revenge" against the Saudi Arabia for the execution of the Shia Muslim cleric. Riyadh's move has also angered Shia Muslims in Iraq, Bahrain, and other countries.

In the wake of the execution, Jubeir ordered all Iranian diplomats to leave the kingdom within 48 hours. Saudi, on the other hand, is bringing home all its diplomats from Tehran.