Saudi Arabia severs diplomatic ties with Iran

Protesters in Iran denounce the execution of Sheik Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia.
(Image credit: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

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."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.