Pakistan has become the latest country calling for calm between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
It comes as Saudi diplomats arrive back in the capital Riyadh following the country's decision to cut ties with Iran and suspend air travel to and from that country.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated following Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shi'ite cleric and the subsequent attack on the Saudi embassy in Iran's capital, Tehran.
Several Middle Eastern and Gulf countries have already taken sides in the dispute, leading to growing concerns from the United States and others.
Rachael Hocking reports.
Saudi diplomats have landed back in Riyadh, bringing with them accounts of the storming of their embassy in Iran over the weekend.
The first secretary of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Mohammed Al Otaibi, says the staff went through "three days of horror" before managing to return to Saudi Arabia.
(Translated)"We had witnessed a complete destruction. They messed up with the contents of the embassy. Then it was the three days of horror that we have lived, until we arrived here at the airport, thank God."
The attack was a direct response to Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia Muslim cleric.
The Saudis retaliated by cutting diplomatic ties with Iran, kicking off repercussions across the Middle East and the Gulf.
Kuwait is the latest nation to recall its ambassador from Iran, following similar action by Saudi allies Bahrain and Sudan.
The United Arab Emirates has also downgraded its relations.
The United States, Turkey and the United Nations are among those calling for calm in the region.
And now Pakistan has stepped in, saying it will "bridge the divide" between the two nations.
Pakistan's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, says the Muslim world faces grave dangers in the wake of the Saudi-Iran stand-off dividing the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC.
"Division within the OIC and among Muslim ummah, when the situation in the Middle East remains so volatile, does not bode well for regional peace and stability. Pakistan will continue to play a positive role as an important member of the OIC and a friend of both Saudi Arabia and Iran to try to bridge the divide and improve the relationship between the two countries.
The United States has stepped up its efforts to cool the tensions, too.
It warns the rift could affect coalition efforts against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIL.
The US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Brett McGurk, says the situation needs to be de-escalated.
"So far, we have not seen any impact on the overall ISIL campaign. As you know, Secretary (of State John) Kerry here was on the phone almost all day yesterday. We are encouraging a de-escalation, because, anytime you have a regional polarisation, regional escalation that obviously could cause difficulties, that opens up seams for extremists on all sides to take advantage of the situation."
Saudi Arabia and Iran are long-time rivals as the key Sunni and Shia powers, respectively, in the region.
That rivalry has heightened as they became involved in backing opposing sides in the fighting in Syria and Yemen.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council urged the warring parties in Yemen to resume what it called a "meaningful, sustainable" ceasefire.
It comes after a Saudi-led coalition ended a more than two-week-old truce with Houthi militia, who it sees as a proxy for Iran.
The coalition ended the ceasefire the same day Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh al-Nimr.
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, says breaking off diplomatic ties with Iran will not affect its own efforts to secure peace in Syria and Yemen.
"From our side, it should have no effect, because we will continue to work very hard towards supporting the peace efforts in Syria, in Yemen, wherever there might be a need for that. How is that going to affect the behavior of Iran? We do not know. You would need to ask the Iranians on that."
Australia has joined world powers in urging all sides to exercise constraint.
