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."
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel Jubair, said the Iranian government has 48 hours to close down its offices and remove all diplomats from the country.
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.
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
