of the conservative hard liners. both in tehran and in riyadh. >> becky anderson, thank you for helping. for analyblnalysis let's bring james spider marx. u.s. ally washington is now working to renew or start anew its relationship with iran. talk about the high wire that u.s. officials have to walk. we can point out that the statement that came out was not from the president. it wasn't from secretary kerry. it was from a spoking person john kirby for the state department. >> victor, first of all, wasn't becky's reporting spot on? she laid it out in all the color and all the details that really described this complex kind of mosaic that we're dealing with. it's very difficult to get your arms around it. to your question, yeah, it's an incredibly tough challenge that we have. and clearly i would say what the united states administration is doing now they are down playing -- they're not trying to enflame this. a spokesperson steps forward and said we're working diligently with both capitals in tehran and riyadh to mitigate. bear in mind saudi arabia and iran have major issues, and

way india. let's bring in becky anderson. why is this causing among the 47 people who were executed, so much backlash. >> reporter: victor, this is a disturbi ining development that could have wide ranging ramification for this region and beyond, in fact. >>> al nimr was outspoken shiite cleric and in the shia dominated eastern region. we have video to show that there is little evidence to suggest that he was actually active in taking out arms against the saudi state. by grouping him with convicted terrorists, the other 46, belonging to groups like al qaeda, saudi arabia, it seems, is sending a message that it will not tolerate any form of d dissent. we are seeing evidence of inflamed relations between riyadh. they ransacked the saudi embassy you are showing on saturday. there are more protests expected today. in turn, riyadh has asked the iran ambassador to leave the country. so you can see already between the two tensions rising. >> let's talk with the response from the united states. the state department released this statement. we reaffirm our calls on the government of saudi ar

others in the weeks to come. becky anderson, cnn, abu dhabi. >> let's talk more about this. joined by bobby gauche, a cnn global affairs analyst. good to see you. this latest news now that saudi arabia is severing ties with iran and telling the iranians in saudi arabia that they have 48 hours in which to get out of the country, how do you dissect that information? >> well, i think that was coming after the attack on the saudi embassy yesterday. it was almost inevitable that this would follow. especially since the response from iran completely unexpectedly was full of rage and iran's supreme leader essentially summoned the wrath of god against saudi arabia. so i think you're going to see a period of very harsh rhetoric and cuttinging of diplomatic ties. it comes at a very bad time. only a few months ago it seemed like there was a possibility that ties between the two countries could have been on the mend. the saudi ambassador was sent to iran after a long break. it looked like there was just a little glimmer of hope that the two countries, although they are traditionally opposed to eac

we really need to watch for. george? >> becky anderson, live in abu dhabi to give us your reporting there and your expertise from the region there. becky, thank you so much for your time today. >>> let's press further on this and the diplomatic fallout from this mass execution. i'm joined now by christopher dick i, the world news editor for the daily beast. when you look at what happened in tehran with the protests at the saudi embassy. when you consider the reaction from that nation's supreme leader, where do things go now between these two regional rivals. >> i think we have to ask where does it go for europe and the united states who are caught up in this mess. we're really looking at not only two religious rivals but two theocracies. saudi arabia, a thee krat i can monarchy. both of them say god is on their side. is that something that the united states should get in the middle of and in fact, it is something the united states is in the middle of right now. then you add to that, the problem of the so-called islamic state saying no, god is on our side and all of them executing pe

worry somegiven the existing conflicts throughout the region. becky anderson has more on that. >> reporter: a measure of the furry that erupted in parts of the middle east after the execution of al nimr. he also condemned the killing of the shiite cleric saying it violated human rights and islamic values. and labeled it another example of, quote, sectarian policies that he said are destabilizing the region. it's a view echoed by shiite leaders in iraq, lebanon and other parts of the middle east. >> i fear that the execution of al nimr would poor gasoline on other places and in saudi arabia itself. >> reporter: shiites who pro tested the killing, even the saudi arabia's shiite minority proteed. a rare act. >> the execution of him could have major repercussions on political and social stability in the kingdom itself. it will polarize relations between the dominant sunni community and the shiite community. a community that feels marginalized and feels that basically it's not fully integrated into saudi arabia. >> sunni led gulf states like the eua and bahrain for quick to come ou

tallest tower. becky anderson reports. ((closed captioning will resume shortly)) (cnn) -- firefighters battled a blaze that engulfed a luxury hotel in dubai thursday night while a spectacular new year's fireworks display lit up the night sky nearby. a large section of the high-end address hotel soon after the fire started around 9:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. et). witnesses said they heard explosions as the fire raged. despite that huge the flames didn't fireworks from going off. just blocks away from the scene, crowds of onlookers enjoyed what was billed as one of the largest firework displays in the world. it's going to be a mostly sunny start to the new year. . but don't expect that to last too long. the first full week of 2016 promises to bring two rounds of rain. we'll start to cloud up as early as sunday, with chances for scattered showers (with little or no accumulation) sunday night through monday, and possibly lingering into tuesday. look for the best chances for stronger rain throughout wednesday and thursday. it's a down exactly how much rain will fall and exactly when, but the poten

negotiating table. our becky anderson has this look. >> reporter: it's a war everyone agrees must be stopped. but nobody agrees on how. twice international peace talks have failed and already, it's not looking like third time lucky. >> there are a lot of work still to be done. what we want to ensure is that this time it will not be like geneva 2, a serious talk about peace and not talk about -- >> with days to go, united nations still hasn't issued invitations saying it's up to major powers like russia and the u.s. to agree on who is attending. but despite a last-minute meeting, there's still no clarity. in particular, a new saudi backed opposition council says it won't accept any other opposition groups attending. >> translator: there will be no negotiation in any way whatsoever if there is any addition. we will not go to negotiate. this thing is settled and we would not succumb to pressure. >> who might be at the table in the negotiations are u.n. mediated bringing together the syrian government and the deeply divided opposition that includes political and fighting groups backed by

revelers were taking in the world's largest fireworks show. >>> let's bring in cnn's becky anderson live for us from dubai. so how's it going there and what's the investigation leading up to right now? >> reporter: well, fredricka, smoke still billowing from what is a luxury hotel in dubai after it was involved in a massive fire on new year's eve. as you pointed out, firefighters continue the process of colding down a smoldering building. the fire at the address downtown started at around 9:30 local time and sent flames shooting out of the 163-floor building. all this as revelers gathered close by to watch what was a spectacular firework display on the world's tallest building. s burj khalifa. firefighters battled the blaze well into the early hours. the government here in dubai says everyone was safely evac wapted from the hotel and's only 16 people, they say, were treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation. investigators now clearly working to determine the cause of the fire. the second major fire to engulf a dubai high-rise in 2015. the deputy head of dubai police tweeting just i