In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr burn an effigy of King Salman of Saudi Arabia as they hold posters of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq.
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He also compared the policies of the Saudi regime with those of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who was executed in 2006 during the US-led invasion of Iraq.
On Thursday, Somalia joined Saudi allies such as Bahrain and Sudan and entirely cut diplomatic ties with Iran. But anger could be felt in the hall, as videos showed mourners shouting: “Death to the Al Saud”, a reference to the royal family.
There has been no official information that Djibouti has cut off diplomatic ties with Tehran but many are anxious that the country in the horn of Africa could increase the fee of Iranian oil tankers going through the Bab al-Mandab strait.
Oman also said it regretted the “unacceptable” attacks on Saudi missions in Iran but did not announce any measures against the Islamic Republic, after some Gulf nations downgraded diplomatic ties.
The White House spokesman warned that the Saudi-Iran dispute would make it more hard to seek a political solution to the Syrian conflict.
But it and the few other Saudi companies doing business in Iran faced increasing public pressure over the course of the week, as consumer and business groups called for boycotts of Iranian products. “Whether you approve or not of the decision is a separate issue, executions in Saudi Arabia are a matter of domestic law”, Erdogan said.
“The ministry summoned this morning Qatar’s ambassador to Tehran against the backdrop of attacks on the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran”, QNA quoted Khalid Ibrahim Abdulrahman Al-Hamar, the director of the Asian Affairs Department, as saying.
Chamber of commerce leaders told local daily newspaper al-Riyadh that Saudi businesses should replace Iranian goods with alternatives from other Arab and Islamic countries.
Nimr, one of 47 men executed on Saturday, was a driving force behind 2011 anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. Muslims and human rights activists all over the world also protested Nimr’s killing.
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He further criticized as unacceptable Saudi Arabia’s exploitation of its capacities to harm Muslims’ interests in the Middle East region.
