Kuwait on Tuesday recalled its ambassador from Iran amid a growing regional dispute surrounding Saudi Arabia's weekend execution of a Shiite cleric, the official KUNA news agency reported.

The Gulf state also called in the Iranian ambassador and handed him an official protest over the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran by demonstrators after the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, KUNA said.

The report did not specify whether the Kuwaiti ambassador to Iran was being recalled for consultations or indefinitely.

Kuwait is not the first majority Sunni country to take diplomatic steps against Iran in protest at the Shiite power's reaction to the execution.

Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with Iran on Sunday, angered by Tehran's vehement criticism, as well as the storming of its embassy.

Riyadh's allies in Bahrain and Sudan followed suit the day after, while the United Arab Emirates recalled its ambassador and said it was downgrading diplomatic relations.

Bahrain also on Tuesday said that it was stopping all flights to and from Iran, a day after it recalling its ambassador to Tehran amid the diplomatic row, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV and Bahrain News Afency reported.

Regional heavyweights Pakistan and Algeria have already joined the EU and United States in calling for reconciliation, amid fears that the dispute will hamper peace efforts in Yemen and Syria where the two Gulf powers support rival sides to the conflicts.

Syria peace talks are due to resume on Jan. 25, in a process that for the first time brings both Saudi and Iran to the negotiating table.

Iran, along with Russia, is the main outside backer of Syria's Bashar Assad, while Riyadh is a key supporter of opposition forces.

The execution of al-Nimr, who was popular among disaffected members of Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority, has led to angry protests by Shiite Muslims in the region.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the killing - which was one of 47 executions, mostly of al-Qaida-linked terror convicts, announced on Saturday - would lead to "divine vengeance" on Saudi Arabia's rulers.

Furthermore, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of Gulf Arab states announced on Tuesday it will hold an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on Saturday to discuss tensions with Iran after attacks on Saudi missions there. "Foreign ministers of the GCC States will hold an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on Saturday ... to discuss the repercussions of the attack on the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in the Iranian city of Mashhad," GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said in an emailed statement.

The 28-nation bloc EU, which opposes the death penalty, criticized Saudi Arabia's mass executions and said al-Nimr's case undermined freedom of expression and basic political rights in the kingdom. Since tensions flared between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the EU foreign policy chief has had phone contact with both sides, fearing an escalation would further destabilize the whole region.

The White House has urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to not let their dispute derail efforts to end the Syrian civil war, while President Barack Obama's administration also hopes to see the Iranian nuclear deal through.

Meanwhile, Berlin has called on Saudi Arabia and Iran to work to mend their diplomatic ties, while condemning both the mass executions in the kingdom and the storming of the Saudi missions in Iran.

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates says it will reduce the number of diplomats in Iran, recall its ambassador and focus only on business relations. While backing Saudi Arabia, it may have chosen to reduce rather than completely sever ties because of a long trading history with Iran. Overwhelmingly Sunni Jordan is a close ally of Saudi Arabia in the region and a beneficiary of Gulf aid. Jordan's government spokesman, Mohammed Momani, has condemned the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Iran.