Updated | Bahrain severs diplomatic ties with Iran, UAE 'downgrading' diplomatic ties

Bahrain has announced it is breaking diplomatic ties with Iran after an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Iranian capital Tehran, international media report.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia gave Iranian diplomats two days to leave the country amid a row over the Saudi execution of a top Shia Muslim cleric and a subsequent attack on its embassy in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia announced late on Sunday it was severing diplomatic relations with Iran after demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday accused the Saudis of "continuing the policy of increasing tension and clashes in the region".

The BBC reports that Saudi Arabia and Iran are key Sunni and Shia powers respectively in the region and back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Meanwhile Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni Muslim king but its population is majority Shia.

The paper adds that there are fears sectarian strife may spread in the region following the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others in Saudi Arabia on Saturday after they were convicted of terror-related offences.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press also reports that the United Arab Emirates is "downgrading" its diplomatic ties with Iran and recalled its ambassador.