The White House calls on Middle Eastern leaders to "redouble efforts" to defuse tensions after the execution of a Shia cleric.
Iran's supreme leader has said Saudi politicians will face "divine vengeance" over the execution of a prominent Shia cleric.
Nimr Al-Nimr was put to death in Saudi Arabia along with 46 other prisoners on Saturday.
It has threatened to further damage relations between the
Sunni-ruled kingdom and its enemy Iran, which is a predominantly Shia
nation.
Nimr al Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, was among those executed in prisons
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "The
unjustly spilled blood of this oppressed martyr will no doubt soon show
its effect and divine vengeance will befall Saudi politicians."
US officials have urged the Saudi government and other
Middle Eastern leaders to "redouble efforts aimed at de-escalating
tensions".
Protesters in Iran's capital, Tehran, attacked the Saudi embassy with petrol bombs in the wake of the executions.
Sectarian anger was also enflamed in eastern parts of Saudi, with hundreds of Shia Muslims marching through the streets.
Al Nimr, 56, was a driving force behind anti-government
protests in Saudi during the Arab Spring of 2011 and Riyadh has insisted
that the death penalties were part of a justified war on terrorism.
There have also been outbreaks of unrest in Bahrain, where
demonstrators took to the streets, and in the eastern Iranian city of
Mashhad, where the Saudi consulate was the scene of protests.
Iran is ruled by a majority Shia-led government and some of
its politicians have warned that Saudi's monarchy will pay a high price
for the killing of Al Nimr.
Meanwhile, former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al Maliki said the execution "will topple the Saudi regime".
The comments of high-profile Iranians prompted Saudi's
Foreign Ministry to summon Iran's envoy to the kingdom, amid claims the
criticism represented a "blatant interference" in its internal affairs.
A Saudi government spokesman later said: "The Iranian regime
is the last regime in the world that could accuse others of supporting
terrorism, considering that (Iran) is a state that sponsors terror, and
is condemned by the United Nations and many countries."
The violent protests came despite an appeal by Al Nimr's
brother for a "peaceful" response to the execution, who said his family
did not want to see further bloodshed.
Most of those executed were detained after a series of
attacks by al Qaeda between 2003 and 2006 in which hundreds of people
were killed. Four, including Al Nimr, were Shias accused of shooting
police.
All but two - an Egyptian and a Chadian - were Saudi
nationals. The executions took place in 12 cities across Saudi, with
four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading.
Last year, 157 people were put to death in Saudi Arabia, compared to 90 in 2014.
Iran In 'Divine Vengeance' Warning To Saudi
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