Iran might rename street where Saudi embassy sits after executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr

Sectarian tensions across the Middle East rose this weekend following the execution of a leading Shia cleric in the Sunni-dominated kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning.

As the news broke, angry demonstrators ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a controversial image on his website comparing the kingdom to Isis while claiming Saudi Arabia would face "divine vengeance" for its actions.

With tensions between two of the Middle East's most dominant nations escalating, rumours emerged on Sunday that Iran was planning on renaming the road where the Saudi embassy is based after the executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

According to IBTimes, Tehran's city council will discuss renaming the street at a meeting on Tuesday.

However, local journalist Abas Aslan tweeted a picture which appeared to show that protesters has already taken that decision for them:

As Quartz points out, this wouldn't be the first time Iran has engaged in diplomatic ribbing - the government renamed the street where the British embassy was based from Churchill Street to Bobby Sands Street - after an Irish republican - in 1981.

The Saudi government hit back against Iran's criticisms in a statement:

The Iranian regime is the last regime in the world that could accuse others of supporting terrorism, considering that (Iran) is a state that sponsors terror, and is condemned by the United Nations and many countries.