Another Country Yanks Ambassador From Tehran

Kuwait announced on Tuesday it has recalled its ambassador to Iran over attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions, making it the latest Arab ally of Saudi Arabia to line up behind the kingdom amid rising regional tensions following its execution of a leading Shiite cleric and opposition figure. Sudan and the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain said Monday they would sever ties with Iran, as Saudi Arabia did late Sunday. The United Arab Emirates announced it would downgrade ties to Tehran to the level of the charge d'affaires, while other nations issued statements criticizing Iran.

Iran's president, meanwhile, says Saudi Arabia "cannot cover its crime" in executing a the cleric by severing ties with Tehran. President Hassan Rouhani made the comments in a statement posted to his website Tuesday, referring to the kingdom's execution of leading opposition figure Sheikh Nimr-al Nimr. Rouhani says that the "Saudi government has taken a strange action and cut off its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran to cover its crimes." He adds that, "undoubtedly, such actions can't cover up that big crime." World powers have sought to calm the tensions, with the White House urging Saudi Arabia and Iran to not let their dispute derail efforts to end the Syrian civil war. (More Saudi Arabia stories.)