One of those put to death was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr – a move that stirred sectarian anger across the region.
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Iraq has undertaken a delicate balancing act amid the latest regional turmoil. Saudi Arabia and its allies say al-Nimr was found guilty of terrorism charges, and that condemnations of the execution amount to meddling in Riyadh’s internal affairs.
He also expressed concerns that polarization in the region could enable extremists on both sides to take advantage of the situation, which might play “into the hands of groups like ISIL”.
President Hassan Rouhani made the comments in a statement posted to his website Tuesday, referring to the kingdom’s execution of leading Shiite cleric and opposition figure Sheikh Nimr-al Nimr.
A day earlier, thousands of Shiites gathered a few hundred meters (yards) from his office and called for the government to sever diplomatic ties with Riyadh. News of his execution has sparked Shiite protests from Bahrain to Pakistan.
At the same time the government in Riyadh is finding its authority increasingly strengthened among the Sunni majority at home as a result of the attacks on its embassy in Tehran. “No, no to the embassy!” chanted the demonstrators who gathered on Tahrir (Liberation) Square in Baghdad, carrying the flags of the three most powerful Iranian-backed militias – Badr Organisation, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah.
The global community has urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to observe restraint after tensions over the execution of the cleric and 46 others – Saudi Arabia’s biggest mass execution for decades.
Two Sunni mosques were attacked in the southern town of Hilla in apparent retaliation for the execution, but al-Abadi was quick to blame IS and order a buildup of security in the province. Kuwait recalled its ambassador from the Iranian capital amid the row. “The prime minister will find himself having to do something or face risking his popular appeal”.
Abadi sent Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to Tehran to help defuse the crisis.
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At a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Rouhani also accused the Saudis of providing money and weapons to “terrorists”, carrying out airstrikes in Yemen, and obstructing “the victory of Iraqi and Syrian governments”, the release said.
