DUSHANBE, January 4, 2016, Asia-Plus — Saudi Arabia says it has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran, amid a row over the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
In a statement carried by the
Saudi Press Agency
(
SPA
), Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on January 3 accused Tehran of “blind sectarianism” and said Iran’s reaction only shows that it is a “partner in their crimes in the entire region.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours. Saudi Arabia was recalling its diplomats from Tehran.
Mr. Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would not let Iran undermine its security, accusing it of having “distributed weapons and planted terrorist cells in the region.”
Meanwhile, Iran”s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the Sunni Muslim kingdom would face “divine revenge” for the execution – an act which also angered Shia Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East. Ayatollah Khamenei called Sheikh Nimr a “martyr” who had acted peacefully.
Prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others were executed on Saturday after being convicted of terror-related offences.
Most of the 47 people executed by Saudi Arabia were Sunnis convicted of involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks over the last decade.
Sheikh Nimr was involved in anti-government protests that erupted in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Arab Spring, up to his arrest in 2012.
The execution sparked new demonstrations in Saudi Arabia”s Eastern Province, where Shia Muslims complain of marginalization, as well as in Iraq, Bahrain and several other countries.
According to international media outlets, protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police. The Saudi foreign ministry said none of its diplomats had been harmed in the incident.
BBC
says the top Shia cleric in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani denounced the execution as an “unjust aggression.”
The leader of Lebanon”s Shia Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, launched his sharpest attack yet on the Saudi ruling family on Sunday, accusing them of seeking to ignite a Shia-Sunni civil war across the world.
US state department spokesman John Kirby said: “We will continue to urge leaders across the region to take affirmative steps to calm tensions.”
In a statement released on January 2, the EU reiterated its strong opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, and in particular in cases of mass executions.
“The specific case of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr raises serious concerns regarding freedom of expression and the respect of basic civil and political rights, to be safeguarded in all cases, also in the framework of the fight against terrorism. This case has also the potential of enflaming further the sectarian tensions that already bring so much damage to the entire region, with dangerous consequences,” the statement said.
The EU called on the Saudi authorities to promote reconciliation between the different communities in the Kingdom, and all actors to show restraint and responsibility.
International experts says a diplomatic rupture between the major Sunni and Shia powers in the region will resonate across the Middle East where they back opposing sides in many destructive wars and simmering conflicts. Players are already lining up along sectarian lines to support either Tehran or Riyadh.
Iran is reportedly Saudi Arabia”s main regional rival – they back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
Relations between the countries have been strained over various issues in recent decades, including Iran”s nuclear program and deaths of Iranians at the Hajj pilgrimage in 1987 and again in 2015.
