On the night from Saturday to Sunday in the Iranian capital of Tehran, a group of protesters against the execution of al-Nimr penetrated into the territory of Saudi Arabia’s Embassy.
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Iranian Protesters Storm Saudi Embassy, Foreign Ministry Asks For Calm
Some were beheaded with a sword while others were executed by firing squad, said ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki. Saudi Arabia has executed 47 people on Saturday in connection with terrorism charges, media reports said.
Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed a prominent Shiite cleric behind anti-government protests along with 46 other men, drawing angry condemnation from Iran and Iraq.
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Some protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the embassy, setting off a fire in part of the building, said the country’s top police official, Gen. Hossein Sajedinia, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
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There are also fears al-Nimr’s execution could spark new unrest among Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority.
Deploring the violence outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran, he called for “calm and restraint” and urged “all regional leaders to work to avoid the exacerbation of sectarian tensions”, his spokesman said in a statement.
Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki called Iran’s reaction “irresponsible”, giving Iran’s envoy to the kingdom 24 hours to leave the country after having been summoned in protest.
An official list published included Sunnis convicted of involvement in Al-Qaeda attacks that killed Saudis and foreigners in 2003 and 2004.
In a statement Sunday, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani extended his condolences for the “martyrdom” of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and others from eastern Saudi Arabia, where the Shiite minority is concentrated.
“The execution of the martyr (Nimr) isn’t just a declaration of war against the People of the House (Shiites) but against all Muslims”, he said in a statement.
Al-Nimr, however, also spoke out against the Iranian-backed government in Syria for killing protesters there.
In an apparent swipe at Saudi Arabia’s western allies, Mr Khamenei criticised “the silence of the supposed backers of freedom, democracy and human rights” over the execution.
The incidents came after the United States and European Union expressed alarm over the executions, with Washington warning Riyadh “risked “exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when they urgently need to be reduced”.
Some of the protesters at the Saudi embassy in Tehran hurled petrol bombs and rocks.
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn described the execution as “profoundly wrong” and Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron urged David Cameron to speak out against the Saudi regime’s actions.
Nimr – and Tehran – have always denied any link between them, and his trial, where evidence was presented, was not open to foreign journalists.
Several Shiites mosques and places of worship were targeted by Sunni extremists in 2015 in eastern Saudi Arabia, despite attempts by security forces to clamp down on Islamic State group supporters who have also targeted police. Iranian authorities said 40 people had been arrested on suspicion of taking part in an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran after the execution of an opposition Shiite cleric in the kingdom.
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Of the 47 executed, 45 were Saudi nationals, one was from Chad and another from Egypt. Four were Shiites.
