Saudi Arabia's foreign minister announced Sunday that the kingdom has cut off diplomatic relations with Iran, following protests at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran condemning Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
On Saturday, 47 people were executed in Saudi prisons, including 56-year-old Shiite leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who had called for equality between Shiites and Sunnis in Saudi Arabia, the Los Angeles Times reports. In response, hundreds of people, some hurling Molotov cocktails, protested outside the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, with many calling for the "Wahhabi embassy" to be shut down. On Twitter, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Nimr a martyr and said "divine revenge will seize Saudi politicians."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How much of a blow is ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu?Today's Big Question Action by Hague court damages Israel's narrative that Gaza conflict is a war between 'good and evil'
-
UK gynaecological care crisis: why thousands of women are left in painThe Explainer Waiting times have tripled over the past decade thanks to lack of prioritisation or funding for women's health
-
'The Hum': the real-life noise behind The ListenersIn The Spotlight Can some of us also hear the disturbing sound that plagues characters in the hit TV show – and where is it coming from?
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom banSpeed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid warSpeed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freezeSpeed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bansSpeed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler groupSpeed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emergeSpeed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in RussiaSpeed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majoritySpeed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
