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| Kuwait becomes latest Saudi ally to downgrade ties with Iran | Kuwait becomes latest Saudi ally to downgrade ties with Iran |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BEIRUT — Kuwait became the latest in a growing list of Saudi Arabian allies to cut or downgrade ties with Iran, saying Tuesday that it had recalled its ambassador to Tehran in solidarity with the kingdom. | BEIRUT — Kuwait became the latest in a growing list of Saudi Arabian allies to cut or downgrade ties with Iran, saying Tuesday that it had recalled its ambassador to Tehran in solidarity with the kingdom. |
| The widening rift between Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies with the Shiite leadership in Tehran has pushed the region dangerously closer to conflict, prompting alarmed appeals for restraint from powers across the globe. | |
| Bahrain and Sudan joined Saudi Arabia in severing diplomatic relations with Iran on Monday, and the United Arab Emirates, a key Iranian trading partner, recalled its ambassador, amid the regional fallout following the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. | |
| Shiite-led protests denouncing Saudi Arabia have flared across the Middle East . In Tehran, the Saudi embassy was ransacked and burned just hours after the cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, was put to death. | |
| [The seven most important moments of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry] | [The seven most important moments of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry] |
| Nimr was a leading voice among Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, which has claimed discrimination and other pressures at the hands of the kingdom’s Sunni rulers. Saudi authorities convicted Nimr of terror-related acts. | |
| Among the worries is whether the impasse could set back attempts at finding a political formula to ease the civil war in Syria, where Iran backs the government of President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi Arabia is the opposite side as a major supporter of anti-Assad factions. | |
| The diplomatic feud also could become an unwelcome distraction for Washington and its Western allies in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. | |
| The Obama administration, caught in the middle by its quest for a closer relationship with Iran and its long-standing alliance with Saudi Arabia, said it hoped Tehran and Riyadh would dial back the hostile rhetoric that has fueled the worst crisis between the regional rivals in decades. | The Obama administration, caught in the middle by its quest for a closer relationship with Iran and its long-standing alliance with Saudi Arabia, said it hoped Tehran and Riyadh would dial back the hostile rhetoric that has fueled the worst crisis between the regional rivals in decades. |
| “We’re urging all sides to show some restraint and to not further inflame tensions that are on quite vivid display in the region,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington. | “We’re urging all sides to show some restraint and to not further inflame tensions that are on quite vivid display in the region,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington. |
| In other world capitals, the message was similar as concerns mounted. | In other world capitals, the message was similar as concerns mounted. |
| [Who is the Saudi cleric whose death caused the Riyadh-Tehran blowup?] | [Who is the Saudi cleric whose death caused the Riyadh-Tehran blowup?] |
| The latest appeals included Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu calling on Saudi Arabia and Iran to immediate open “diplomatic channels” — perhaps through a third country — to ease the impasse. | The latest appeals included Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu calling on Saudi Arabia and Iran to immediate open “diplomatic channels” — perhaps through a third country — to ease the impasse. |
| But there were few signs of outreach. | But there were few signs of outreach. |
| In Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani slammed Saudi Arabia as trying to “cover up its crime” of executing Nimr, who was among 47 prisoners put to death in the kingdom’s largest mass execution since 1980. | |
| At a palace in Riyadh, meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir met with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, in efforts to bolster a common front. On Monday, Saudi Arabia pledged more than $3 billion in loans and other assistance Egypt’s battered economy despite Riyadh’s own belt-tightening due to slumping oil prices. | At a palace in Riyadh, meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir met with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, in efforts to bolster a common front. On Monday, Saudi Arabia pledged more than $3 billion in loans and other assistance Egypt’s battered economy despite Riyadh’s own belt-tightening due to slumping oil prices. |
| In previous years, increased friction between OPEC giants would likely send oil sharply higher. But a current glut of oil on the market — coupled with a slowing economy in China — has kept oil prices relatively steady even among the deepening Saudi-Iran crisis. | In previous years, increased friction between OPEC giants would likely send oil sharply higher. But a current glut of oil on the market — coupled with a slowing economy in China — has kept oil prices relatively steady even among the deepening Saudi-Iran crisis. |
| The official Saudi Press Agency quoted Jubeir as denouncing Iranian sponsored “terrorism, violence and extremism” around the region — clear references to divides in flash points such as Syria and Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting rebels whom Saudi Arabia claim receive Iranian aid. Iran denies it. | |
| [Can a Saudi-led “Islamic alliance” make a difference in anti-terror fight?] | |
| And more diplomatic backlash is possible. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, anchored by Saudi Arabia, plans to meet Saturday in Riyadh to discuss “the repercussions” of the attacks on the Saudi Embassy and the nation’s consulate in Mashhad in northeastern Iran. | |
| Iran says it has arrested demonstrators responsible for the assault and has pledged to deter future attacks against all diplomatic facilities in Iran. | |
| Yet the implications of the Saudi-Iranian rift extend far beyond their immediate rivalry as competing regional powerhouses and encompass almost all of the wars raging in the Middle East. The current crisis could further complicate efforts to resolve the Syrian war and could strengthen, by default, the Islamic State. | Yet the implications of the Saudi-Iranian rift extend far beyond their immediate rivalry as competing regional powerhouses and encompass almost all of the wars raging in the Middle East. The current crisis could further complicate efforts to resolve the Syrian war and could strengthen, by default, the Islamic State. |
| In another sign of fallout, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said Monday it was suspending all flights between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a move that raised uncertainties about the ability of Iranian pilgrims to visit the important Muslim pilgrimage site of Mecca, and of Saudi Arabian Shiites to visit shrines in Iran. | In another sign of fallout, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said Monday it was suspending all flights between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a move that raised uncertainties about the ability of Iranian pilgrims to visit the important Muslim pilgrimage site of Mecca, and of Saudi Arabian Shiites to visit shrines in Iran. |
| [How Saudi Arabia and the Islamic State find common ground in beheadings] | [How Saudi Arabia and the Islamic State find common ground in beheadings] |
| “I don’t think this is going to open warfare, but it’s going to make the proxy battles worse,” said Mohamad Bazzi, a professor at New York University who is writing a book on Iranian-Saudi relations. “The pattern has been that when one side escalates, the other escalates. Now that is going to spiral.” | “I don’t think this is going to open warfare, but it’s going to make the proxy battles worse,” said Mohamad Bazzi, a professor at New York University who is writing a book on Iranian-Saudi relations. “The pattern has been that when one side escalates, the other escalates. Now that is going to spiral.” |
| One major concern is the fledgling peace process in Syria, endorsed by a U.N. Security Council resolution last month, which the State Department has counted among one of its greatest achievements of 2015. | One major concern is the fledgling peace process in Syria, endorsed by a U.N. Security Council resolution last month, which the State Department has counted among one of its greatest achievements of 2015. |
| The United Nations dispatched its special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on an emergency mission to Riyadh and Tehran to see whether the peace talks between rival Syrian factions will be able to go ahead as scheduled Jan. 25. | The United Nations dispatched its special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on an emergency mission to Riyadh and Tehran to see whether the peace talks between rival Syrian factions will be able to go ahead as scheduled Jan. 25. |
| With Iran and Saudi Arabia not on speaking terms, it is hard to see any meaningful peace process getting underway, Bazzi said. “It was already going to be difficult,” he said. “But the Americans and the Russians had got everyone to agree to at least sit at the table, and that seems to have been erased by this.” | With Iran and Saudi Arabia not on speaking terms, it is hard to see any meaningful peace process getting underway, Bazzi said. “It was already going to be difficult,” he said. “But the Americans and the Russians had got everyone to agree to at least sit at the table, and that seems to have been erased by this.” |
| Also at risk is the war against the Islamic State, which is often obscured by the region’s many other rivalries. | Also at risk is the war against the Islamic State, which is often obscured by the region’s many other rivalries. |
| “The growing sectarian polarization across the region will primarily benefit the Islamic State, which is promoting a sectarian narrative,” the London-based defense consulting company IHS said in a commentary. | |
| Murphy reported from Washington. | Murphy reported from Washington. |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| How Saudi Arabia and the Islamic State find common ground in beheadings | How Saudi Arabia and the Islamic State find common ground in beheadings |
| The seven most important moments of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry | The seven most important moments of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry |
| Who is the Saudi cleric whose death caused the Riyadh-Tehran blowup? | Who is the Saudi cleric whose death caused the Riyadh-Tehran blowup? |
| 7 remarkable insults in the Iran-Saudi Arabia war of words | 7 remarkable insults in the Iran-Saudi Arabia war of words |