Qatar says its ambassador to return to Iran

Qatar has announced that its ambassador to Tehran will be returning to Iran around 20 months after he was recalled following demonstrations held in front of Saudi embassy in Tehran.

"Qatar announced that its ambassador to Tehran will return to resume his diplomatic duties," said the Qatari Foreign Ministry's information office in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

Qatar initially recalled its ambassador to Iran after demonstrations were held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the Arab country’s consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the killing of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr (pictured below) as part of a crackdown on Shias mostly residing in the kingdom's Eastern Province.  

The ambassador’s return was announced amidst a political conflict between Qatar on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, which cut their diplomatic ties with Doha in early June, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism. Qatar has rejected the claim.