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It’s hard to pick a favourite between a country that executes 47 alleged terrorists — including political prisoners — and a rogue state that actively supports terrorist brigades across the Middle East. But here we are.

Saudi Arabia recently conducted its largest mass execution in 30 years. Among the most notable fatalities was Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a Shia who has oft been critical of the Saudi government. Never missing an opportunity stress its own importance in the region, protests soon began in Iran, where Saudi diplomatic posts were attacked. The two countries broke off diplomatic ties; several other Middle Eastern countries followed Saudi Arabia’s lead, isolating Iran. Iran then accused Saudi Arabia of attacking its embassy in Yemen. It’s the worst diplomatic crisis the Middle East has seen in … a few weeks, perhaps.

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Saudi Arabia, long an uncomfortable Western ally, is on the verge of an economic shift that may result in a more stable nation and an emerging regional hegemon. Or — as its more frantic critics worry — the country is on the cusp of protracted decline and eventual state failure. These mass beheadings and political spit matches with Iran are worrying omens.