This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35217328
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia breaks off ties with Iran after al-Nimr execution | Saudi Arabia breaks off ties with Iran after al-Nimr execution |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Saudi Arabia says it has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran, amid a row over the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric. | Saudi Arabia says it has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran, amid a row over the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric. |
| Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was speaking after demonstrators had stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran. | Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was speaking after demonstrators had stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran. |
| Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others were executed on Saturday after being convicted of terror-related offences. | |
| Mr Jubeir said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours. | Mr Jubeir said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours. |
| Saudi Arabia was recalling its diplomats from Tehran, he said. | |
| Mr Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would not let Iran undermine its security, accusing it of having "distributed weapons and planted terrorist cells in the region". | |
| "Iran's history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction," he told a news conference. | |
| Earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the Sunni Muslim kingdom would face "divine revenge" for the execution - an act which also angered Shia Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East. | Earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the Sunni Muslim kingdom would face "divine revenge" for the execution - an act which also angered Shia Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East. |
| Ayatollah Khamenei called Sheikh Nimr a "martyr" who had acted peacefully. | Ayatollah Khamenei called Sheikh Nimr a "martyr" who had acted peacefully. |
| Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police. | Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police. |
| Iran is Saudi Arabia's main regional rival - they back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. | |
| Who was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr? | Who was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr? |
| Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Figurehead Shia cleric | Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Figurehead Shia cleric |
| Most of the 47 people executed by Saudi Arabia were Sunnis convicted of involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks over the last decade. | |
| Sheikh Nimr was involved in anti-government protests that erupted in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Arab Spring, up to his arrest in 2012. | |
| The execution sparked new demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, where Shia Muslims complain of marginalisation, as well as in Iraq, Bahrain and several other countries. | |
| The top Shia cleric in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani denounced the execution as an "unjust aggression". | |
| The leader of Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, launched his sharpest attack yet on the Saudi ruling family on Sunday, accusing them of seeking to ignite a Shia-Sunni civil war across the world. | |
| He said the blood of Sheikh Nimr would "plague the Al Saud [family] until the Day of Resurrection", prompting cries of "Death to the Al Saud!" among an audience watching his address. |