(MENAFN- Arab News) TEHRAN Iran: Allies of Saudi Arabia followed the kingdom's lead and began scaling back diplomatic ties to Iran on Monday after the ransacking of Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic Republic violence sparked by the Saudi execution of a Shiite radical.
Sudan and the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain said they would sever ties with Iran as Saudi Arabia did late Sunday. Within hours the United Arab Emirates announced it would downgrade ties to Tehran to the level of the charge d'affaires and would only focus on economic issues. Somalia also issued a statement criticizing Iran.
The execution Saturday of Shiite radical Nimr Al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges the largest mass execution carried out by Saudi Arabia since 1980 laid bare the sectarian divisions gripping the region. Shiite protesters took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan while Arab allies of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia lined up behind the kingdom.
The escalating tensions between the two longtime regional rivals looks to further imperil efforts to end the wars in Syria and Yemen where Saudi Arabia and Iran back rival sides.