Tehran, Iran, January 4
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
After Saudi Arabia severed ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran in a recent rift, Sudan, Djibouti, and Bahrain followed the country by announcing they were going to discontinue their diplomatic relations as well.
These three countries followed Saudi Arabia's move which is a key in the Arab world and especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The United Arab Emirates, which has great financial interests in Iran, sufficed to lowering its diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic by calling Ambassdor Saif al-Za'abi back home to follow relations at the charge d'affaires level, Fars news agency reported January 4.
The tension in Iran-Saudi Arabia ties was ignited by Saudi execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, which was followed by attack on Saudi Embassy in Tehran by angry protestors who set the building on fire overnight on January 2.
Nimr was an outspoken Shia cleric who had studied in Iran and Syria and was a critic of the Saudi government. Iranian officials had long warned against his execution.