Anti-Saudi demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran today to protest Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and after Iran accused its rival of bombing its embassy in Yemen.
The festering diplomatic crisis between the Middle East's leading Sunni and Shiite Muslim powers has raised sectarian tensions across the region and complicated efforts to resolve conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
In a development that could further strain relations, Saudi media reported today that four Iranians would go on trial in the kingdom, one for spying and the other three for "terrorism".
Around 1,000 protestors marched through Tehran chanting "death to Al-Saud" -- Riyadh's ruling family, according to an AFP photographer.
Others shouted "death to America" and "death to Israel", frequent rallying cries at demonstrations in Iran.
Some carried placards with the picture of Nimr al-Nimr, the Shiite cleric and activist whose execution by Saudi Arabia on Saturday unleashed a wave of anger across the Shiite world.
Relations between the longtime adversaries hit a fresh low yesterday when Iran accused Saudi warplanes of deliberately targeting its embassy in Sanaa, damaging the property and seriously wounding a security guard.
The Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen denied the attack, but Tehran said it would take the matter to the UN Security Council.
"Saudi Arabia is responsible for the security of our diplomats and of our embassy in Sanaa," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said.
The coalition said there had been no operations near the embassy, which was "safe and has not been damaged".
The Yemeni conflict, which pits the rebels known as Huthis against pro-government forces backed by Riyadh and other Gulf Arab states, is one of the main sources of dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
