Number of Indian Americans in elected offices not reflective of their population: Kamala Harris
Riyadh, January 5
The diplomatic crisis surrounding Saudi Arabia and Iran widened today as Kuwait recalled its ambassador to Tehran in the face of growing international concern.
Joining Riyadh and its Sunni Arab allies in taking diplomatic action, Kuwait said it was withdrawing its envoy over a weekend attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Kuwait’s move came after the UN Security Council strongly condemned the attack, carried out by protesters angry over Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia, the main Sunni power, and Shiite-dominated Iran have erupted this week into a full-blown diplomatic crisis, sparking widespread worries of regional instability.
Iran lashed out again at Saudi Arabia for the execution today, with President Hassan Rouhani accusing Riyadh of seeking to “cover its crime” by severing ties.
“One does not respond to criticism by cutting off heads,” Rouhani said, referring to the usual Saudi practice of carrying out executions with beheading by the sword. Washington and other Western powers have called for calm amid fears the dispute could raise sectarian tensions across the Middle East and derail efforts to resolve conflicts from Syria to Yemen. The Security Council joined those calls late on Monday, issuing a statement urging all sides to “take steps to reduce tensions in the region”.
The statement by the 15-member council condemned “in the strongest terms” the attacks which saw protesters firebomb the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Iran’s second-biggest city Masshad.
