US Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken repeatedly recently to Saudi and Iranian officials to encourage dialogue, the US State Department said on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran one day after the Saudis executed a prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. "In his calls, Kerry has stressed the importance of pushing forward on a peace deal for Syria," his spokesman John Kirby was quoted as saying by Reuters.
