Kuwait Withdraws Its Ambassador from Iran

Kuwait's news agency reported on Tuesday, January 5, that the country's ambassador has been recalled from Iran. This action by Kuwait follows the attack on Saudi diplomatic sites in Tehran and Mashhad. The Kuwaiti news agency did not clarify how diplomatic relations between Kuwait and Iran will be affected. Following the execution of Sheikh Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric and critic of the Saudi government, protests were held in front of the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad, during which attackers entered the embassy and set part of it on fire. In reaction to this incident, Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday. Bahrain and Sudan, allies of Saudi Arabia, also severed their diplomatic relations with Iran on Monday, while the United Arab Emirates downgraded its diplomatic relations with Iran to the level of chargé d'affaires. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attacks on the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad in a statement on Monday, January 14, stating that the members condemned the attacks, which led to 'serious damage and destruction' of these diplomatic sites, in the 'strongest terms.' Mohsen Kazemini, the commander of the 'Mohammad Rasulullah' Corps in Tehran, stated on Tuesday that the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran was 'completely organized' and 'a very wrong and incorrect act.' Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has yet to respond to the attack on the Saudi embassy and consulate. He had previously stated that 'the hand of divine revenge will seize the Saudi officials.'