Tehran, January 6, The Iran Project – On Saturday when Riyadh executed Sheikh Nimr coupled with 46 other, a series of developments have been come which effectively impressed the two countries ties that had already been deteriorated following the Mina tragedy in last September and Syria crisis during the past months.


Along with the international protest against Saudi government act to execute the prominent Shia critic of Saudi regime, the sharp escalation of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which was followed by cutting or downgrading ties with few other countries like Sudan, Djibuti and Bahrain and United Arab Emirates, has dominated the mainstream international media in past few days.


Reporting the development following the Nimr’s killing, Guardian noted that the executions signal further hardening of Saudi Arabia’s stance toward Iran. It then quoted the Iranian officials’ positions, as saying that Saudi government attempts to resolve its internal problems by exporting them to the outside.


In an interview published by Russia Today, a Middle East affairs expert believed that the Saudi Kingdom is making effort to build a regional bloc which also may include Israel. He noted the Saudi Arabia's extremist irrational policies which only escalates its disputes with Iran. Referring to the sectarian policies of King Salman, the analyst stressed the connection between the Turkish President Recep Erdogan's visit to Riyadh and the government's decision to execute Sheikh Nimr.


Severing diplomatic ties with Iran by Saudi Arabia also has drawn New York Times' attention. The media referred the Saudi measure as a "surprise move" which has come amid the time when the US and others had hoped that the two powers limited cooperation ends both the five years of war in Syria and the hostilities in Yemen. NYT also expressed fear that cutting the diplomatic ties would increase sectarian division in the region.


In an editorial entitled "Why Saudi Arabia escalated the Middle East's sectarian conflict", Washington Post explained that the execution of top Shia leader, Sheikh Nimr has escalated the sectarian hostilities in the region to a dangerous level. It further reiterated that Saudi leadership intentionally has moved to enhance the sectarianism in the region. The media also introduced the new escalation by Saudi Arabia a reaction to Iran's nuclear deal with world powers which has left the country profoundly vulnerable.


In its reporting of the development in the region, CNN underlined John Kerry's remarks that cutting diplomatic ties between two countries will jeopardizes the US and other countries efforts to fight ISIS and to settle the Syria crisis.


In sum, the Saudi Arabia's intention to take advantage of the recent animosity is what has been underlined by the mainstream international media. Besides the regional sectarian consequences of the decision to stop diplomatic relations, the media focused on possible negative outcomes of the Ryiadh move on the Syria crisis and the international consensus to fight against ISIS.


The truth is that the Saudi quick and hostile response following the embassy storm in Tehran on Saturday night raises serious questions that make clear the genuine motivation behind the move.


As some analysts argued, through the very act of execution and the sharp escalation of tension by cutting ties, Saudis likely aim to distract internal and international audiences from its foreign policy failures in different cases. Iran's president Rouhani in his twitter account also reiterated that "to cover up its domestic problems & failed regional policies, #Saudi beheaded #SheikhNimr & did not even hand over his body to his family."


There seems to be little question that success of the nuclear deal between Iran and great powers and the Saudis failure to block it, the deadlock in attempts to topple Assad government in Syria and Yemen quagmire which has hindered it to accomplish its goals, despite the huge human and material costs, are the reasons why the Saudi monarchs has resorted to a new dispute to distract the public.