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On Saturday,Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shiite cleric from eastern Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Nimr was a prominent activist who called for Shiite empowerment and was openly critical of the Saudi royal family. The Saudi government, or though, accused him of inciting violence. In response to the news of his execution, a number of demonstrations took station throughout the Middle East, and nowhere more fiercely than in Tehran,where a protest at the Saudi Embassy turned violent over the weekend. Forty Iranians were arrested after storming the embassy, throwing molotov cocktails and setting share of the building ablaze - putting at risk the already tenuous relationship between the Sunni monarchy in Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran. Other countries also experienced protests, or such as Bahrain,where protesters in the Shiite-majority country were met with tanks sent by Saudi Arabia to support the Sunni monarchy. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran, or giving Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Thomas Erdbrink,Tehran Bureau Chief for our partner The New York Times, weighs in on the implications and what's at stake.
Source: wnyc.org