AdvertisementAnalysisSaudi Arabia, Iran Face Off As Sectarian Tensions Escalate After ExecutionsJanuary 03, 2016Deborah AmosfacebookEmailIranian security forces stand guard as protesters demonstrate outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran. The crowd was decrying the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric, by Saudi authorities — an execution that has heightened sectarian tensions in the region. (Getty Images)