Saudi Arabia ‘can’t cover up cleric execution’ says Hassan Rouhani

Iran’s president has said that Saudi Arabia cannot “cover up” its crime of executing a leading Shi’ite cleric by severing diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic.

President Hassan Rouhani’s comments came as Kuwait announced it had recalled its ambassador to Iran over attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic Republic.

The execution last weekend of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shi’ite cleric and opposition figure in Saudi Arabia, has heightened the Saudi-Iran regional rivalry, threatening to derail already shaky peace efforts over the wars in Syria and Yemen.