RIYADH—Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday after protesters ransacked its embassy in Tehran to protest at the execution of a Shiite cleric whose killing has sparked fury.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir made the announcement in Riyadh, saying Iranian diplomats had 48 hours to leave the kingdom, but Tehran fired back that Saudi Arabia’s decision would not distract from its “big mistake” of executing Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Relations between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shiite-dominated Iran have been strained for decades, with Riyadh frequently accusing Tehran of interfering in Arab affairs.
The oil-rich foes have also been divided over the nearly five-year war in Syria, where Iran is backing the regime, and the conflict in Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition is battling Shiite rebels.
The spike in tensions, which comes after Iran last year secured a historic nuclear deal with world powers led by the United States, saw oil prices rise Monday in Asian trading.
On Sunday, Iran’s supreme leader said Riyadh would face “quick consequences” for executing Nimr, as Washington urged regional leaders to soothe escalating sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Saudi Arabia “is breaking off diplomatic ties with Iran and requests that all members of the Iranian diplomatic mission leave… within 48 hours,” Jubeir said.
“Iran’s history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction,” he said, accusing Tehran of seeking to “destabilise” the region.
On Saturday, a mob attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad, Iran’s second-biggest city, amid protests at Nimr’s execution.
Jubeir said Saudi authorities had asked their Iranian counterparts to ensure security at the embassy but they did not cooperate and failed to protect it.
Nimr, 56, was a force behind 2011 anti-government protests in oil-rich easternSaudi Arabia, where Shiites have long complained of marginalization.
He was put to death along with 46 other people, including Shiite activists and convicted Sunni militants who the Saudi interior ministry says were involved in Al-Qaeda attacks that killed dozens in 2003 and 2004.
Some were beheaded and others were executed by firing squad.
Iran has said it arrested 44 people over the embassy attacks, and President Hassan Rouhani said the demonstrators were “radicals” and the assaults “totally unjustifiable”.