Reuters reports that the UAE announced it is downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran in the wake of Iranian protests against the Saudi execution of prominent Shia cleric and political dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
"The UAE has decided to reduce the level of diplomatic representation with the Islamic Republic of Iran to the level of a charge d'affaires and to reduce the number of Iranian diplomats in the country," the state media agency WAM said.
Charge d'Affaires is a rank lower than an ambassador. It is not known how many Iranian diplomats will have to leave UAE in the upcoming weeks, Reuters reports.
On Saturday night and Sunday, protesters burned the Saudi embassy and consulate in Iran in response to the execution. Al-Nimr was Shia and had studied theology in Iran for over a decade.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties enitrely with Iran earlier today.
