Iranian protesters set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran during a demonstration against the execution of prominent Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi authorities on Saturday.— AFP photo
Angry crowds protesting at Saudi Arabia’s execution of a top Shia cleric hurled petrol bombs and stormed the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran on Saturday before being cleared out by police, reported AFP.
In Mashhad, Iran’s second biggest city, demonstrators meanwhile set fire to the Saudi consulate, according to news sites, carrying pictures of the alleged assault.
The incidents came hours after the announcement of the death of 56-year-old cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a key figure in anti-government protests in the kingdom since 2011.
The execution prompted strong condemnation from Shia-majority Iran and Iraq.
‘There are flames inside the embassy… demonstrators were able to get inside but have since been cleared out,’ ISNA news agency said.
Protesters had been able to climb up onto the roof of the embassy before they were made to leave, it added.
Websites carried pictures of demonstrators apparently clutching the Saudi flag, which had been pulled down.
Iranian media quoted foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari as asking police to ‘protect Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic missions in Tehan and Mashhad… and prevent any demonstrations in front of these sites.’
Nimr, who spent more than a decade studying theology in Iran, was among a group of 47 Shias and Sunnis executed Saturday on charges of terrorism.
Iran’s top leader on Sunday warned Saudi Arabia of ‘divine revenge’ over the execution of an opposition Shia cleric while Riyadh accused Tehran of supporting terrorism, escalating a war of words hours after protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran, reported AP.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the execution in a statement on his website, saying al-Nimr ‘neither invited people to take up arms nor hatched covert plots. The only thing he did was public criticism.’
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saudi Arabia’s ‘medieval act of savagery’ in executing the cleric would lead to the ‘downfall’ of the country’s monarchy.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said that by condemning the execution, Iran had ‘revealed its true face represented in support for terrorism.’
The statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, accused Tehran of ‘blind sectarianism’ and said that ‘by its defence of terrorist acts’ Iran is a ‘partner in their crimes in the entire region.’
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Saudi envoy in Tehran to protest, while the Saudi Foreign Ministry later said it had summoned Iran’s envoy to the kingdom to protest Iran’s criticism of the execution, saying it represented ‘blatant interference’ in its internal affairs.
Source: New Age
