Turkey 'harshly' condemns attacks on Saudi missions

Turkish Prime Minister on Tuesday condemned attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions by Iranian protestors in the wake of the execution of a leading Shia Muslim cleric by Riyadh.

“As a country whose diplomats and diplomatic missions were attacked in the past, the attacks aimed at diplomatic missions, regardless of the reason, cannot be accepted and we harshly condemn these attacks,” Ahmet Davutoglu told at a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara.

Davutoglu said diplomatic channels should be "enabled as soon as possible” to prevent any “negative impact on security, stability and the peace of the region”.

He added: “Iran and Saudi Arabia, which Turkey regards as friends and allies, are two key countries of the Islamic world.”

The prime minister said Turkey was ready to make constructive efforts to resolve the diplomatic fallout, which emerged over the weekend following the execution of Nimr Baqir al-Nimr and the resulting backlash in Iran that saw two Saudi diplomatic missions attacked by demonstrators.

Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has since severed ties with Tehran, a move that has been copied by Saudi allies Bahrain and Sudan. Kuwait has also recalled its ambassador to Shia-ruled Iran, while the United Arab Emirates has downgraded its diplomatic representation.

“The region does not need fresh conflicts, but reconciliation and solutions,” Davutoglu said.

Nimr was arrested in July 2012 after leading mass protests against the Saudi regime. He was among 47 people executed by the Saudi authorities on Saturday for terrorism offenses, sparking an escalation in tension between regional rivals which already support opposing sides in civil wars in both Syria and Yemen.