Saudi Arabia Announces It’s Severing Ties With Iran

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir holds a press conference Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 in Paris. Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that 34 nations have agreed to form a new "Islamic military alliance" to fi... Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir holds a press conference Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 in Paris. Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that 34 nations have agreed to form a new "Islamic military alliance" to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom, but the coalition does not include Shiite-majority Iran or Iraq, and it’s not clear how exactly it would function. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) MORE LESS
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Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir says his country is severing diplomatic ties with Iran amid spiking tensions over the execution of a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric.

Al-Jubeir said late Sunday evening that Iranian diplomatic personnel had 48 hours to leave the country and all Saudi diplomatic personnel in Iran were being recalled home.

Demonstrators in Tehran broke into the Saudi Embassy early Sunday morning to protest the execution of Shiekh Nimr al-Nimr, a leader of the country’s Shiite minority.

Iranian officials harshly condemned the execution, with Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying that Saudi Arabia would face “divine retribution.”

The ultraconservative Sunni kingdom and Shiite powerhouse Iran have waged a bitter struggle for regional power for years. The two countries each back opposing sides in civil wars in Yemen and in Syria.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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