Shiite Muslims across the Gulf region have reacted with disgust and condemnation after Saudi Arabia executed a leading Shiite cleric, Sheikh Al-Nimr, on terror charges Saturday. He was one of the 47 people who were put to death.
10 January 2016
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has accused Iran of undermining regional security and interfering in other states' affairs. Jubeir blamed the crisis on the Iranian policy "with its interference in the affairs of the states and instigation of sectarian strife."
Tehran "is shaking [the Arab region’s] security and stability," Reuters quoted the minister as saying on Sunday at an emergency Arab League session in Egypt's Cairo. It was convened to discuss growing tensions in the region.
At the emergency talks requested by Riyadh, the Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi accused Tehran of "provocative acts" and called on diplomats to "adopt a strong and clear common position calling on Iran to stop all forms of interference in the affairs of Arab nations," as cited by AFP.
All participating countries apart from Lebanon condemned Iran's "interference," RIA reported citing United Arab Emirates' top diplomat, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
06 January 2016
Iraq will mediate in the talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as the situation threatened to escalate even further. The announcement was made by the country’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on Wednesday, as translated by Press TV. He was speaking at a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"Creating tension is not a sign of power, but weakness," Zarif was quoted as saying.
05 January 2016
Bahrain has announced it has halted all flights to and from Iran, Arabiya TV reported.
The escalating spat between Iran and Saudi Arabia could derail all efforts at solving the problem of Syria, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier told BILD in an interview. He expressed a wish that both sides focus urgently on solving their differences and then working together to find political solutions to crises such as Syria and Yemen. The region, he said, requires Tehran and Riyadh to be “responsible players.”
Sudan is also souring relations with Tehran. It has now given Iranian diplomats two weeks to leave the country, AP reports. This comes a day after Khartoum informed Riyadh of its solidarity with Saudi Arabia on the Iranian matter and announced the expulsion of Iran's ambassador.
Kuwait has become the next Islamic country to renounce ties with Iran after it recalled its ambassador to Tehran, following Iran’s spat with Saudi Arabia.
04 January 2016
The US State Department on Monday renewed its call for leaders in the Middle East to try to calm tensions in the region after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran.
"The United States is concerned about rising tensions in the Middle East... following recent executions in Saudi Arabia, attacks on Saudi diplomatic properties in Iran and the cutting or downgrading by a number of countries of their diplomatic ties [with Iran]," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at his daily briefing.
"We call on all sides to avoid any actions that would further heighten tensions in the region," it added.
Turkey can’t support the execution of a senior Shia cleric by Saudi Arabia because Ankara opposes capital punishment in general, Turkish government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus said.
"We are against all instances of capital punishment especially when it is politically motivated... For us it is not possible to support capital punishment by any country," Kurtulmus stated as cited by Reuters.
According to the spokesman, the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday was not conducive to peace in the region.
"But Saudi Arabia and Iran are our friends and we don't want them fighting because that's the last thing this region needs," Kurtulmus added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Saudi foreign minister that the decision to break ties with Tehran was “worrying.”
“The Secretary-General reiterated that the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran was deplorable, but added that the announcement of a break in Saudi diplomatic relations with Tehran was deeply worrying,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation has announced a halt to all flights to and from Iran.
"Based on the kingdom's announcement of the severing of diplomatic relations with Iran, the General Authority for Civil Aviation is halting all flights from and to Iran," the authority wrote on Twitter.
Germany is planning to reexamine its arms export to Saudi Arabia after the Gulf kingdom executed 47 people, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said.
"We can see that it was right to neither deliver tanks nor G36 assault rifles to Saudi Arabia," Gabriel said. "Now we have to review whether we also need to evaluate defensive armaments more critically in the future."
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Baghdad on Monday to condemn the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabian authorities, Ruptly reports. Scuffles broke out among the protesters in front of police lines in the Iraqi capital.
The Arab League is planning to hold emergency talks on Riyadh's request to discuss the Iranian attacks on the Saudi embassy, said Ahmed Ben Helli, the league’s deputy secretary-general.
Riyadh is planning to cut off flights all between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and will ban its citizens from traveling to Iran, the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters.
The website of the Saudi Defense Ministry has been hacked by group of Young Saudis called “Brave Youth Fighting Religious Taboos,” Iran’s Fars News reported. The hackers claimed that the cyberattack was in retaliation for the recent execution of leading Shiite cleric Sheikh Al-Nimr.
"We will continue defending the religious sanctities and also targeting the enemies and oppressors involved in the killing of the freedom-seekers and revolutionaries," the hackers said, according to Fars.
France has urged “deescalation” in the heated argument between Iran and Saudi Arabia, government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said Monday, following the first cabinet meeting this year. He underscored France’s role as a neutral player and intermediary in the matter.
France expects Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to visit at the end of January for talks with French President Francois Hollande.
A political Saudi Twitter account posted this tweet.
According to WAM, the UAE is now looking to cut the number of Iranian diplomats in the country.
The Saudi Press Agency reports that Sudan is the next to follow in moving to sever ties with Iran. The country announced the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador by phone with Riyadh, reportedly telling Saudi Arabia it stands with it in condemning Iran’s alleged interference in the region.
Germany will not take any special measures against Saudi Arabia over its recent mass executions, the Germany Foreign Ministry said. The Germans, however, are disturbed by the events, and the economic and energy ministry spokesman, according to TASS, told journalists the concerns will play into decisions relating to future weapons orders by Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain has become the next Islamic country to renounce ties with Iran, following Tehran’s spat with Riyadh and the attack on the Saudi diplomatic mission to Tehran. According to a state news agency, Bahrain has given Iranian diplomats 48 hours to pack up, following a similar Saudi move.
Russia is ready to act as intermediary in the growing dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a source in the Foreign Ministry in Moscow told the Russian media.
“We express our sincere regret with regard to the current escalation between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” the source said, as cited by RIA. They added that the two countries are very important players regionally and internationally, and that “it is a shame to see the two Islamic countries clash in such a way.”
In response to Saudi Arabia severing diplomatic ties with Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has accused Riyadh of using the attack on the Saudi embassy as a pretext to escalate diplomatic tensions, Reuters reports.
"Iran... is committed to provide diplomatic security based on international conventions. But Saudi Arabia, which thrives on tensions, has used this incident as an excuse to fuel the tensions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari told reporters in televised remarks.
Iran's Foreign Ministry has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting foreign diplomatic missions, Press TV reports, as the Islamic Republic deals with the fallout from the attacks early on Sunday morning on the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran.
03 January 2016
Saudi Arabia has cut diplomatic ties with Iran, state SPA news agency reports, citing the Saudi foreign minister.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir claimed the Tehran embassy attack early Sunday was similar to what he called earlier Iranian assaults on foreign embassies there, accusing Iran of creating “terrorist cells’ inside Saudi Arabia.
“The kingdom, in light of these realities, announces the cutting of diplomatic relations with Iran and requests the departure of delegates of diplomatic missions of the embassy and consulate and offices related to it within 48 hours. The ambassador has been summoned to notify them,” the foreign minister said.
Earlier, angry Iranian protesters stormed and set ablaze the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday night during a rally in condemnation of Riyadh’s execution of the Shia cleric.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has used his official website to release a cartoon drawing parallels between the executions by Saudi Arabia and Isis, and said there will a backlash that will punish Riyadh's "political mistakes."
“Sheikh Nimr will undoubtedly receive the grace of God and the hands of divine vengeance will surely snatch – by their necks – those cruel individuals who took his life and this is a source of comfort for us,” said the politician and cleric.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran have told their Austrian counterpart, Sebastian Kurz, that they are not interested in the “escalation” of tensions following the execution of 47 people by the government in Riyadh.
"Both foreign ministers gave the assurance that no one can have an interest in a further escalation," a spokesman for Kurz said.
The French Foreign Ministry has said it condemns the executions of 47 people by Saudi Arabia and is calling on all leaders to avoid sectarian tensions.
"France reiterates its constant opposition to the death penalty, in all places and all circumstances," the ministry said in a statement.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had a “long conversation'' with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif following protests near the Saudi embassy in Tehran, an EU statement said.
The statement said that Mogherini and Zarif agreed that “no effort should be spared by all parties to keep the situation under control and to avoid sectarian tensions to escalate.”
Hundreds of Shiite activists have rallied in Islamabad, Pakistan, to denounce the execution of 47 people by Saudi Arabia, including prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia “cannot be taken lightly,” Reuters reported.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon was "deeply dismayed over the recent execution by Saudi Arabia of 47 people," his spokesman said.
"Sheik al-Nimr and a number of the other prisoners executed had been convicted following trials that raised serious concerns over the nature of the charges and the fairness of the process," Ban's spokesman added.
Watch RT's special coverage on Shiite Muslims protests across the Gulf region over the execution of leading Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia.
The execution of leading Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia won’t change anything in relations between Riyadh and Washington, Ajamu Baraka, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, told RT.
“The relationship between the Saudis and the US is a very strong one. It is not based on any kind moral concerns about the nature of the Saudi regime,” he said.
According to Baraka, there won’t be no “measurable impact, no shift of policies” between US and Saudi Arabia.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani slammed the execution of Shiite cleric, but said that the attack on Saudi embassy in Tehran was "totally unjustifiable."
"The actions last night by a group of radicals in Tehran and Mashhad leading to damage at the Saudi embassy and consulate are totally unjustifiable, as the buildings should be legally and religiously protected in the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, as cited by the official IRNA news agency.
New video emerged of Iranian protesters throwing Molotov cocktails at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran before storming it.
Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, condemned the execution of Nimr al-Nimr.
"We have received with much sorrow and regret the news of the martyrdom of a number of our brother believers in the region, whose pure blood was shed in an unjust aggression," the cleric said in a letter addressed to the population of the eastern Saudi region of Qatif, where al-Nimr used to preach.
Iranian police have arrested 40 people in connection with the attack on the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran, local authorities reported.
Saudi Arabia's embassy in Beirut has increased security in the wake of the attack on the country's embassy in Tehran, the Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida reported. The staff of the Beirut embassy were told to stay inside the compound as angry demonstrations protesting Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr started in the Lebanese capital.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeated his condemnation of Saudi Arabia for executing Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, saying Saudi politicians will face “divine vengeance.”
"The unjustly spilled blood of this oppressed martyr will no doubt soon show its effect and divine vengeance will befall Saudi politicians," Iranian state TV reported Khamenei as saying, according to Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has given Iran’s envoy to Riyadh 24 hours to leave the country, Fars News reports.
02 January 2016
Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement early on Sunday calling for calm and asking protesters to respect the property of diplomatic premises, the Entekhab news website reported.
A ministry’s spokesman, Hossein Jaber Ansari, also said there should be no further demonstrations around the Saudi embassy, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports by local journalists have said that the Saudi Arabia’s embassy staff will be evacuated out of Iran tonight.
Police used tear gas in Tehran after a crowd of angry protesters broke into the Saudi embassy, ravaging its offices and throwing Molotov cocktails at the building. The mayhem broke out at a rally set off by Riyadh’s execution of Sheikh Al-Nimr.
READ MORE: Protesters storm Saudi embassy in Tehran, set it ablaze
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned the Saudi Al Saud ruling family that their decision to execute a prominent Shiite cleric will result in a backlash.
“A harsh revenge will strike the Al Saud in the near future and cause the fall of this pro-terrorist, anti-Islamic regime,” the Guards said in a statement cited by Mehr news agency.
Saudi Arabia summoned the Iranian ambassador in Riyadh over Iran’s "hostile" remarks on executions, according to the state news agency SPA.
The ministry expressed “astonishment and its utter rejection of these hostile statements, which it deemed a blatant intervention in the kingdom's affairs."
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, warned that Saudi Arabia’s execution of the cleric could have “dangerous consequences.” She also said that the incident raises serious concerns over freedom of expression and the respect for basic civil and political rights.
“This case has also the potential of inflaming further the sectarian tensions that already bring so much damage to the entire region, with dangerous consequences,” she said.
Following the execution, Iranian lawmakers asked the Foreign Ministry to downgrade diplomatic ties with the Saudi government, FARS news agency reported. They proposed reducing the number of Saudi diplomats and consulates in Iran.
A German foreign ministry official condemned the execution, saying it deepened worries about the region.
“The execution of Nimr al-Nimr strengthens our existing concerns about increasing tensions and deepening rifts in the region,” he anonymously told Reuters.
Humam Hamoudi, a prominent Shiite politician from Iraq and member of the powerful Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) party, warned that the execution would benefit terrorists in the region by exacerbating sectarian strife.
Former Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki compared the execution with the incident when a prominent Shiite cleric was killed by the Iraqi government in 1980 and said that it would topple the Saudi government "as the crime of executing the martyr (Mohammed Baqir) al-Sadr did to Saddam (Hussein)."
Human Rights Watch strongly criticized the Saudi executions. Sarah Leah Whitson, the group’s Middle East director, said that Nimr’s trial had been “unfair” and that his execution “is only adding to the existing sectarian discord and unrest.”
“Saudi Arabia’s path to stability in the Eastern Province lies in ending systematic discrimination against Shia citizens, not in executions,” she said. “Regardless of the crimes allegedly committed, executing prisoners [en masse] only further stains Saudi Arabia’s troubling human rights record.”
Riyadh has dispatched large numbers of armored vehicles to Al- Qatif, the hometown of the executed cleric, to suppress the angry protesters, according to Iranian Fars news agency. The region is predominately Shiite.
The Saudi consulate in Mashhad, Iran has been reportedly set on fire during protests over the execution of a leading Shiite cleric on terror charges.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi condemned the execution of the Shiite cleric in a statement on Saturday.
Abadi said that suppressing voices and executing opponents “would lead to nothing but more destruction” and expressed “intense shock” at the news.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tweeted a tribute to al-Nimr, who was executed on Saturday.
"Awakening is not suppressible," read the tweet on Khamenei's English-language Twitter account, next to a photograph of Nimr.
Khamenei's website also carried an image comparing Saudi Arabia to extremist group Islamic State, suggesting that they both execute their opponents.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has condemned the execution of al-Nimr, calling it an “assassination,” while also blaming it on the US for its support for Saudi Arabia.
The "real reason" for the execution was "that Sheikh Nimr... demanded the squandered rights of an oppressed people," Hezbollah said in a statement, apparently referring to Saudi Arabia's Shi'ite minority.
"The Saudi authorities ... put them (the Shi'ites executed) together with terrorist bands and groups which had committed crimes against civilians. Sheikh Nimr resisted oppression with words," the Hezbollah statement said, as cited by Reuters.
It said it held the United States and its allies directly responsible through their support for the Saudi government, and urged the international community and rights groups to condemn the execution.
A leading Iraqi politician Humam Hamoudi says that the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr will serve the interests of Islamic State, as it will only open sectarian divides in Iraq and Syria.
"The execution of Sheikh al-Nimr is a service to Daesh, which is betting on expanding by igniting sectarian wars," said Hamoudi, a prominent Shi'ite politician and member of the powerful Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) party.
Meanwhile, Iran says it has summoned the Saudi charge d'affaires in Tehran, state television reported. Angry locals have also gathered outside the Saudi diplomatic mission in the capital to protest al-Nimr’s death. Elsewhere, in the Iranian holy city of Qom, dozens of men, some dressed in robes and turbans, marched through the city, holding up pictures of the dissident Saudi cleric.
A prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for demonstrations to take place in countries across the Gulf region to protest the execution of al-Nimr.
"I ask that the Shiites of Saudi Arabia ... show courage in responding, even through peaceful demonstrations, and the same for the Shiites in the Gulf, so as to deter injustice and government terrorism in the future," he said on his website, as cited by Reuters.
He also said that Iraq should think twice about re-opening the Saudi embassy in Baghdad. It opened its doors for the first time this week since 1990, when it was closed after Iraq's invasion of neighboring Kuwait.
Nimr had been the most vocal critic of the Saudi Arabia’s ruling family, before mass protests erupted in 2011. He regularly called for demonstrations to take place against the ruling elite, with Shiites complaining they have long been the victims of discrimination. Nimr had often called on better protection of the country’s Shiite minority.
Police in Bahrain have used teargas to disperse members of the country’s Shiite minority who have been protesting the death of the top Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Demonstrators were carrying portraits of the religious leader, when they clashed with security forces west of the capital Manama.
Shiite dominated Iran has slammed the decision by regional rival Saudi Arabia to execute al-Nimr. A spokesman for the foreign ministry accused the Kingdom of supporting terrorism and executing its opponents.
"The Saudi government supports terrorists and takfiri (radical Sunni) extremists, while executing and suppressing critics inside the country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said, as cited by state news agency IRNA.
The brother of Nimr al-Nimr said his family was shocked by his brother’s death, but hoped any reaction or condemnation would be peaceful.
"Sheikh Nimr enjoyed high esteem in his community and within Muslim society in general and no doubt there will be reaction," Mohammed al-Nimr told Reuters by telephone. "We hope that any reactions would be confined to a peaceful framework. No one should have any reaction outside this peaceful framework. Enough bloodshed"
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, one of the most senior clerics in Iran, says that the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, who the Saudi government accused of inciting violence among the Kingdom’s Shiite minority, reflected the “criminal” nature of the Saudi ruling family.
"I have no doubt that this pure blood will stain the collar of the House of Saud and wipe them from the pages of history," Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, was quoted as saying by Mehr, as cited by Reuters.