AKIPRESS.COM - Kuwait has announced it is recalling its ambassador to Iran as a regional row over the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia deepens.

Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran was ransacked and set alight on Saturday, after it executed Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others, reports BBC.

Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response, followed on Monday by its allies Bahrain and Sudan.

The US, UN and Turkey are among those calling for calm in the region.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are major rivals for power in the Middle East and back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

Saudi insists peace efforts in those countries should not be affected by the spat but criticised Iran's contribution to the process.

Saudi Arabia's unexpected decision to carry out the executions - following convictions over terror-related offences - prompted an expression of "deep dismay" from the UN secretary general, while the US accused Saudi of exacerbating tensions "at a time when they urgently need to be reduced".