Iran in Rage Over Nimr Execution, But Committed To Security of Diplomatic Sites
Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr yesterday has sparked harsh reactions among Iranian officials and religious people.
On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that Sheikh Nimr, along with 46 others convicted of being involved in “terrorism” and adopting a “Takfiri” ideology, had been executed.
Ayatollah Khamenei's official English website posted images of Sheikh Nimr with a verse from the Quran; “And whoever is killed wrongfully, we have certainly given his heir an authority,” the caption reads. In another image posted to the website, the Saudi regime was labeled ‘white ISIS’.
In a move to protest the Nimr execution, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Saudi charge d'affaires in Tehran, Es'hagh al-Arini.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Saudi Arabia is the main drive behind the spread of terrorism in the region, adding that the regime cannot clear itself of its wrong policies, which have fueled insecurity in the region, by playing the blame game and executing Sheikh Nimr.
A number of prominent Iranian clerics also condemned Sheikh Nimr’s execution by Riyadh. Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said on Saturday the execution is in line with a litany of crimes committed by the Saudi regime from the onset of its creation. Ayatollah Abbas Ka’abi, another member of the Assembly of Experts, denounced the execution, saying the killing shows that the al-Saud regime is desperate and on the verge of downfall.
A senior Iranian cleric said the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr indicates that Saudi Arabia seeks to trigger sectarian strife between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
“Certainly, this crime has not been [committed] without the US’ knowledge…and we know that it is in line with creating a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shias,” Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi said on Saturday, as quoted by PressTV.
He said Nimr’s execution left no doubt that Saudi Arabia is the hub for Takfiri ideology in the world.
Another top Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani also condemned Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Nimr which he said “once again showed the criminal nature” of the al-Saud regime.
He added that the execution of the well-known Shia cleric awakened the Muslim world, stressing that his death “will pave the way for the [al-Saud] regime’s fall.”
Protesters gathered in front of the Saudi consulate and chanted slogans against the Arab state's authorities, in Iran's northeastern religious city of Mashhad on Saturday, Tabnak news website reported.
Later in the evening, angry protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and fire brigades were summoned to extinguish a fire set before the embassy. Some protesters claimed the embassy was already on fire before any protester could enter the site. Tehran’s Police Chief said a few protesters have been arrested. “Around 22:20 on Saturday night, a number of self-motivated protesters gathered in front of the Saudi embassy and started to throw stones and petrol bombs into the building after a while,” Tehran Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Sajedinia told ISNA. He said the police resisted the move from the very early moments and some members of the force were injured as a result. “A handful of protesters also broke into the building but were soon taken out by the police,” he added. He asked citizens of the Iranian capital to pursue their protests through legal procedures.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry calls for prevention of any gathering in front of Saudi diplomatic sites in Iran, said an MFA spokesperson referring to the gathering of a number of individuals in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
“The Foreign Ministry understands the innocent feelings of our Muslim nation, but calls for avoiding any rally before the diplomatic sites,” Hossein Jaberi-Ansari said as quoted by Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA).
He also condemned the unfair execution of prominent Saudi Shiite leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr once again, but stressed providing security of Saudi diplomatic sites in Tehran and Mashhad.
Diplomatic police are responsible for dealing with any attack against Saudi diplomatic sites and take measures to keep public order and security of such places based on its duties, he added.