SAUDI ARABIA CUTS DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH IRAN

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister. (Photo: AP)

Riyadh, 24 Rabi’ul Awwal 1437/4 January 2015 (MINA) – Saudi Arabia has announced it is severing diplomatic ties with Iran following Saturday’s attack on its embassy in Tehran during protests against executions in the kingdom.

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, made the announcement on Sunday while the foreign ministry said it was asking Iranian diplomatic mission to leave the kingdom within 48 hours.

The Saudi foreign ministry also announced that the staff of its diplomatic mission had been evacuated and were on their way back to the kingdom. Al Jazeera quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry announced on Saturday the execution of 47 people on terrorism charges, including a convicted al-Qaeda leader and a Shia religious leader.

Many of the men executed had been linked to attacks in Saudi Arabia between 2003 and 2006, blamed on al-Qaeda.

Four of those executed were said to be Shia.

Nimr al-Nimr, the Shia leader, was accused of inciting violence and leading anti-government protests in the country’s east in 2011. He was convicted of sedition, disobedience and bearing arms.

He did not deny the political charges against him, but said he never carried weapons or called for violence. (T/P001/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)