The conflicts in the Middle East have taken another turn for the worse, just a few days into the new year. On Jan 2, Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and set it on fire after Saudi Arabia *executed a *prominent Shiite Muslim *cleric who criticized the Saudi *monarchy and its treatment of its Shiite minority. The following day, Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic ties with Iran. The tension between the two countries *escalated on Jan 7 when Iran accused a Saudi-led coalition of damaging its embassy in an air strike in Yemen.