Bahrain and Sudan have quickly followed Saudi Arabia in severing diplomatic relations with Iran in the wake of a row over the execution of a leading Shia cleric by the Saudi authorities, which has provoked wide international condemnation. Sudan also says it has cut diplomatic links, while the United Arab Emirates has also downgraded ties with Tehran.
Saudi Arabia also said that it was halting all air traffic to and from Iran, and would ban its citizens from visiting. Iranians, however, would be still be able to visit the kingdom for pilgrimages to Mecca.
The Gulf island state Bahrain, Saudi Arabia’s closest Gulf ally, said on Monday that Iranian diplomats had 48 hours to leave Manama, and its own diplomats would be leaving Tehran.
Shortly afterwards, Sudan announced that it was expelling the Iranian ambassador to Khartoum and that all ties had been severed. Sudan has been distancing itself gradually from Tehran in recent months.
The UAE is also downgrading its diplomatic representation to Iran, replacing its ambassador with a chargé d’affaires, al-Hadath TV reported. The relatively modest step is likely to reflect the close trade ties between the two countries despite longstanding political tensions.
Over the weekend protesters set ablaze the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in another Iranian city, Mashhad. The attacks have been widely condemned inside Iran as an own goal, diverting attention from the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others.
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