--- title: White House Urges Iran and Saudi Arabia to 'Show Restraint' description: Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday. canonical: https://time.com/4166501/iran-saudi-arabia-white-house/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-04T21:17:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:45:26.530Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Urges Iran and Saudi Arabia to 'Show Restraint' og:description: Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday. og:url: https://time.com/4166501/iran-saudi-arabia-white-house/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt160637659d21627c/69887771a988cab4666b5f18/gettyimages-503342552.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: IRAN-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY-EXECUTION-DEMO og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Urges Iran and Saudi Arabia to 'Show Restraint' twitter:description: Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt160637659d21627c/69887771a988cab4666b5f18/gettyimages-503342552.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Urges Iran and Saudi Arabia to 'Show Restraint' by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 4, 2016 9:17 PM UTC  Iranian women gather during a demonstration against the execution of prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr (portrait) by Saudi authorities, at Imam Hossein Square in the capital Tehran on January 4, 2016\. Tensions between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbours reached new heights as Saudi Arabia and Gulf allies cut or downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran in a row over the execution of a Shiite cleric. Iranian women gather during a demonstration against the execution of prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr (portrait) by Saudi authorities, at Imam Hossein Square in the capital Tehran on January 4, 2016\. Tensions between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbours reached new heights as Saudi Arabia and Gulf allies cut or downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran in a row over the execution of a Shiite cleric.ATTA KENARE—AFP/Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 4, 2016 9:17 PM UTC Tthe White House called on Saudi Arabia and Iran to simmer down after tensions continued after [the weekend’s unrest in Tehran.](http://time.com/4165715/saudi-arabia-iran-diplomatic-ties/) “We do continue to be concerned about the need for both the Iranians and the Saudis to deescalate the situation in the Middle East,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday. “We are urging all sides to show restraint and to not inflame the tensions that have been on display in the region. While Secretary of State John Kerry has echoed American concerns directly to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and other U.S. officials have sent messages to counterparts in Saudi Arabia, President Obama has not contacted leaders of either country personally but is “aware of the situation,” according to Earnest. Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia executed Nimr al-Nimr, a popular Shiite cleric and critic of the Saudi monarchy. Iranians responded by storming the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and a consulate in the city of Marshhad. Saudi Arabia[ broke off formal diplomatic relations](http://time.com/4165914/saudi-arabia-iran-sudan/?xid=homepage) with Iran and called for the return of its diplomats. The White House didn’t play into fears that the tensions between the two countries would not interfere with the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. “We are hopeful that it won’t,” Earnest said. “It is so clearly in the interests of both parties to advance a political solution to the situation inside of Syria. **Read More:** [_A Recent History of the Rivalry Between Iran and Saudi Arabia_](http://time.com/4165875/iran-saudi-rivalry/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4166501/iran-saudi-arabia-white-house/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4166501/iran-saudi-arabia-white-house/"},"headline":"White House Urges Iran and Saudi Arabia to 'Show Restraint'","datePublished":"2016-01-04T21:17:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:45:26.530Z","description":"Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday.","url":"https://time.com/4166501/iran-saudi-arabia-white-house/","keywords":["White House","Iran","Saudi Arabia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt160637659d21627c/69887771a988cab4666b5f18/gettyimages-503342552.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt160637659d21627c/69887771a988cab4666b5f18/gettyimages-503342552.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"IRAN-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY-EXECUTION-DEMO","caption":"IRAN-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY-EXECUTION-DEMO","creditText":"ATTA KENARE—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4166501/iran-saudi-arabia-white-house/","name":"White House Urges Iran and Saudi Arabia to 'Show Restraint'"}}]}] ```