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Kuwait has announced it is recalling its ambassador to Iran as a regional row over the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia deepens, the BBC reported.

Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran was ransacked and set alight on Saturday, after it executed Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others.

Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in response, followed on Monday by its allies Bahrain and Sudan.

The US, UN and Turkey are among those calling for calm in the region.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are major rivals for power in the Middle East and back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

Kuwait's announcement, which was carried on the state-run Kuwait News Agency, did not explain exactly how Kuwait-Iran diplomatic relations would be affected, reports said.

Saudi Arabia's unexpected decision to carry out the executions - following convictions over terror-related offences - prompted an expression of "deep dismay" from the UN secretary general, while the US accused Saudi of exacerbating tensions "at a time when they urgently need to be reduced".

But analysts say that since then, Saudi Arabia has played a skilful hand in responding to the attacks on its missions in Tehran and the Iranian city of Mashhad.

While Bahrain and Sudan have cut ties, the UAE has downgraded its diplomatic team in Iran, and now Kuwait has acted too.

And on Monday, the UN Security Council issued a strongly worded statement condemning the attack on the Saudi embassy - making no mention of the execution of the cleric.