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		</div><p>Iraq has offered to act as a mediator to ease tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran that escalated after the kingdom&#8217;s execution of a Shiite cleric and attacks on two of Saudi diplomatic posts in the Islamic Republic.</p>
<p>Some Sunni Arab nations have followed the Saudis&#8217; lead and severed or downgraded ties with Iran, while others have offered words of caution aimed at calming the situation.</p>
<p>The offer by Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, made during a news conference in the Iranian capital, included the diplomat referring to the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a &#8220;crime&#8221;, a description that raised questions as to whether Saudi officials would even consider such an offer.</p>
<p>The kingdom and its allies say that Mr al-Nimr was executed after being tried and sentenced to death under Saudi law.</p>
<p>Mr al-Jaafari&#8217;s comments show the balancing act that Iraq finds itself in amid the inflamed regional politics.</p>
<p>It is relying on Iranian help and powerful Shiite militias to battle the extremist Islamic State group while trying to repair its own ties to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which last week sent an ambassador to Baghdad for the first time in 25 years.</p>
<p>Speaking alongside Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mr al-Jaafari said Iraq&#8217;s place in the heart of the Middle East allows it to play a role in trying to &#8220;alleviate tensions.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;This responsibility has been given to us and we have been active from the early moments to lessen tensions to prevent a disaster from happening that could affect the entire region,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Russia also has offered itself as a potential mediator, although it is unclear whether Saudi or Iranian officials have responded to the proposal.</p>
<p>Mr Zarif, meanwhile, blamed Saudi Arabia for exacerbating the situation.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have treated these actions with magnanimity and nobleness but unfortunately our neighbour, Saudi Arabia, did not respond to it properly,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The process of provoking tension must be stopped.&#8221;</p>
<p>The diplomatic stand-off between Iran and Saudi Arabia began Saturday, when the kingdom executed Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others convicted of terror charges &#8211; the largest mass execution it has carried out since 1980.</p>
<p>In Iran, protesters responded by attacking the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad.</p>
<p>Late on Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced it was severing relations with Iran because of the assaults.</p>
<p>In the time since, a host of Saudi allies have cut or reduced their ties to Iran.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Oman broke its silence and called the diplomatic post attacks &#8220;unacceptable&#8221;, while leaving its ties to the Islamic Republic untouched.</p>
<p>The sultanate has been a long-time mediator between Iran and the rest of the world and helped jump-start negotiations for the Islamic Republic&#8217;s recent nuclear deal with global powers.</p>
<p>In eastern Saudi Arabia, where Mr al-Nimr agitated for greater political rights for Shiites in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, three days of mourning over his death were to end on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>Mohammed al-Nimr, the sheikh&#8217;s brother, said people planned to hold a funeral on Thursday for the cleric, although Saudi authorities already buried his corpses in an undisclosed cemetery.</p>
<p>Asked about the diplomatic post attacks, Mr al-Nimr said it was &#8220;not acceptable&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8220;We still believe that violence is not the right approach,&#8221; he said. &#8220;About my brother, we were hoping to end it in a political way rather than in blood.&#8221;</p>
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In their dreams. I cannot see that happening