Despite official pleas for “calm” following the death of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, Iranians are in no mood to stand down.
Perhaps the Ayatollah's calls for "divine vengeance [7]" have incited a riot or perhaps the Shiite world has simply had enough of the House of Saud, but whatever the case, crowds once again gathered outside the Saudi consulate in Mashhad on Sunday where riot police tried in vain to disperse the mob with water cannons just hours after angry protesters torched the Saudi embassy [8] in Tehran.
Below, find images from the scene which underscore just how precarious the situation has become in the wake of Saturday's executions in Saudi Arabia.
If crude needed an excuse to rally, then surely this is it as it now appears that in addition to the fact that Riyadh and Tehran are squaring off in Syria (where Iran is present and the Saudis fight by proxy) and Yemen (where the Saudis are present and the Iranians fight by proxy), the two countries are on the verge of a historic diplomatic crisis which has the potential to stoke sectarian violence across the Muslim world.
Claims #Iran [9] has renamed street in #Mashhad [10] where #Saudi [11] consulate is after #SheikhNimr [12]. pic.twitter.com/9ljnd1Jmf6 [13]
— Hamosh (@Hamosh84) January 3, 2016 [14]