Bahrain Orders Iranian Diplomats To Leave

Bahrain has followed Saudi Arabia in severing diplomatic ties with Iran and ordering Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.

The Bahrainis said the decision was triggered by the "cowardly" attacks on the Saudi embassy in Iran by protesters angry at the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al Nimr.
The United Arab Emirates has also announced it is downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran, while Saudi media is reporting that Sudan has expelled the Iranian ambassador there.

The interventions by Bahrain, UAE and Sudan, which like Saudi Arabia are predominantly Sunni, represent another escalation in tension between the two branches of Islam.
Iran, a Shia powerhouse, has accused Saudi Arabia of using the attacks on its embassy in Tehran to deliberately stoke "tensions" in the region.

"Saudi Arabia, which thrives on tensions, has used this incident as an excuse to fuel the tensions," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said in televised remarks.
The protesters lit fires and smashed furniture in the embassy before being cleared out by police, who arrested 40 people.
No Saudi diplomats were in the embassy at the time and all have now been called home.
Iranian officials condemned the attack, as well as Sheikh al Nimr's execution by Saudi Arabia.
The 56-year-old was a driving force behind anti-government protests in Saudi during the Arab Spring of 2011.
He was put to death along with 46 other prisoners on Saturday, sparking widespread demonstrations and criticism.
The Saudis have insisted the death penalties were part of a justified war on terrorism.

But Iran's supreme leader said Saudi politicians will face "divine vengeance" for killing the cleric.
There has also been sectarian anger in eastern parts of Saudi, with hundreds of Shia Muslims marching through the streets, and demonstrations spread to countries including Turkey, Pakistan, India and Lebanon.
Police fired tear gas at demonstrators in Bahrain, while two Sunni mosques were bombed in Iraq's Hilla province.
The leader of Lebanese Shia militant group Hizbollah also strongly condemned Saudi Arabia, saying Sheikh al Nimr was a brave martyr killed only for his criticism of the Saudi ruling family.
China declared itself "highly concerned" with the developments, while Germany and the US called for calm.
A unnamed diplomat quoted by Russian state media said Moscow was ready to act as a peacemaker between the two countries.
Most of those executed on Saturday were detained after a series of attacks by al Qaeda between 2003 and 2006 in which hundreds of people were killed.

Four, including Sheikh al Nimr, were Shias accused of shooting police.
All but two - an Egyptian and a Chadian - were Saudi nationals.
Britain's Treasury minister David Gauke said the executions were "wrong", but he defended the UK's close relationship with the Saudi regime.
He told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "When it comes to protecting British people, the Prime Minister has made it clear that intelligence from Saudi Arabia has helped save lives and protect people in the UK ...
"We have a relationship with Saudi Arabia where we are able to speak candidly to them, where these issues are raised on a regular basis by the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister and our representatives in Riyadh."