Bahrain, Sudan follow Saudi in cutting ties with Iran

DUBAI - Bahrain said Monday it is cutting diplomatic ties with Iran, following the suit of its ally Saudi Arabia as tensions escalate over the execution of a Shiite cleric.

Manama ordered Tehran's diplomats in the tiny Gulf state "to leave the kingdom within 48 hours," BNA state news agency said on Twitter.

A Bahraini statement said the decision was triggered by "cowardly" attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran and "increasing flagrant and dangerous meddling" by Tehran in the internal affairs of Gulf and Arab states.

Manama said the attacks on the Saudi missions represent a "very dangerous pattern of sectarian policies that should be confronted... in order to preserve security and stability in the entire region."

The Bahraini foreign ministry summoned Iran's charge d'affaires Murtada Sanawbari and handed him an official note in this regard, said the statement carried by BNA.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday it was severing its ties with Iran after angry crowds set fire to its embassy in Tehran and attacked its consulate in Mashhad a day after Riyadh executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Meanwhile Sudan said Monday it is cutting diplomatic relations with Iran as well amid mounting tensions between Riyadh and Tehran over the execution of a cleric.

"The Sudanese government announces the cutting of diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the decision was taken "in the wake of the brutal attack on the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad," which it said was "clear abuse of international law".

Sudan was seen as enjoying generally good relations with Iran until September 2014, when it shut Iranian cultural centres in Khartoum.

Khartoum also moved closer to Sunni Gulf states in March last year when it announced it was joining the Saudi-led coalition against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen.