Doha is recalling its ambassador to Tehran in protest as the regional dispute over Riyadh’s execution of an influential Shia Muslim cleric rumbles on.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have also cut diplomatic relations, while the UAE has announced it will downgrade its diplomatic representation in the Islamic Republic.

Foreign ministers from the GCC states will hold an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on 9 January to discuss increasing tensions with Tehran after Saudi missions there were attacked.

The execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has widened a sectarian rift between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the respective main Shia and Sunni powers in the region.

Al-Nimr and 46 others were executed in Saudi Arabia, with the prominent cleric having been convicted of terror-related offences.

On 3 January, Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and set fires before being removed by police.