RIYADH/DUBAI - Saudi Arabia rallied Sunni allies to its side in a growing diplomatic row with Iran on Monday, deepening a sectarian split across the Middle East following the kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric.
Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shia cleric and activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and three other Shias on terrorism charges on Saturday, alongside 46 other Sunni militants.
Iranian protesters stormed the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran Saturday night as Shia Iran hailed Nimr as a “martyr” and warned Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family of “divine revenge”.
Shia groups united in condemnation of Saudi Arabia while Sunni powers rallied behind the kingdom, hardening a sectarian split that has torn apart communities across the Middle East.
Bahrain and Sudan have cut all ties with Iran, following Riyadh’s example the previous day. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), home to hundreds of thousands of Iranians, partially downgraded its relations.
But the other Gulf Arab countries – Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – stayed above the fray. And Turkey said it cannot support the execution of the senior Shia cleric, especially when it is politically motivated.
Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based seat of Sunni Muslim learning, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Saudi Arabia, condemned the attacks on Riyadh’s missions.
Bahrain, a Sunni-ruled island kingdom with a restive Shia majority, accused Iran of “blatant and dangerous interference” in the affairs of the Gulf Arab countries.
The Yemeni government on Monday announced a curfew in the port city of Aden, a beachhead for Saudi and UAE forces waging war on the Shia Houthi group that controls much of the country. A ceasefire collapsed on Saturday.
In Lebanon, newspapers said the spat had clouded the hopes of filling the vacant presidency that had been raised last month after Iran and Saudi Arabia both voiced support for a power-sharing deal.
A man was shot dead in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province late on Sunday, and two Sunni mosques in Iraq’s Shia-majority Hilla province were bombed in the fallout from the dispute.
Shia Iran accused Saudi Arabia of using the attack on the embassy as an “excuse” to sever ties and further increase sectarian tensions.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iran was creating “terrorist cells” among the kingdom’s Shia minority. He told Reuters Riyadh would also halt air traffic and commercial relations between the rival powers. He blamed Iran’s “aggressive policies” for the diplomatic action, alluding to years of tension.
The Arab League will hold emergency talks at the request of Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss attacks in Iran on the kingdom’s embassy and consulate, its deputy head said.
The weekend talks are aimed at “condemning the violations committed by Iran against the sanctity of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad,” Ahmed Ben Helli told reporters on Monday.
Oil prices spiked during European trading as the two big petroleum exporters traded insults and after violence hit other crude producers such as Iraq. But prices then eased back on evidence of economic weakness in Asia.
Stock markets across the Gulf dropped sharply, led by Qatar which fell more than 2.5 percent, with geopolitical jitters outweighing any benefit from stronger oil.
Crude importer China declared itself “highly concerned” with the developments, in a rare foray into Middle East diplomacy. The western powers called for restraint, while Russia offered to mediate an end to the dispute.
“We ask... Tehran, Riyadh and other Gulf countries to show restraint,” Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, as it called on Saudi Arabia and Iran to take “the path of dialogue” and added that “Russia is ready to support such efforts”.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made telephone calls to foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran, urging them both to avoid any actions that could further exacerbate the situation, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“The Secretary-General reiterated that the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran was deplorable, but added that the announcement of a break in Saudi diplomatic relations with Tehran was deeply worrying,” Ban told Saudi foreign minister.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also called the Iranian and Saudi Arabian foreign ministers on Monday to urge calm. “We are urging calm and de-escalation. The situation needs to be calmed,” a US official said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US “certainly would condemn any country that’s carrying out mass executions” and warned that the new dispute would make it more difficult to push warring sides in the Syrian conflict toward a political solution.
The US itself has no formal diplomatic relations with Iran, but has been developing a closer working relationship since signing a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in July last year.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia were “hugely concerning” and condemned the death penalty following Riyadh’s execution of the Shia cleric.
Saudi Arabia is Britain’s most important trade partner in the Middle East and was its biggest market for arms exports in 2014.
Germany’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned Saudi Arabia on Monday Berlin could review military exports to the oil-rich nation in light of Riyadh’s mass executions of prisoners two days earlier. Berlin also urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations.
The row threatened to derail efforts to end Syria’s five-year-old civil war, where Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab powers support rebel groups against Iran-backed President Bashar al-Assad.
The UN peace envoy for Syria was traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of a visit to Iran for talks aimed at defusing tensions between the two regional heavyweights, the UN spokesman said.