Iran Summons Saudi Charge d'Affaires in Protest Against Sheikh Nimr's Execution

In continuation of the widespread protests by officials of the Islamic Republic and Shia religious authorities against the execution of Sheikh Nimr, a critic of the Saudi government, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Saudi charge d'affaires in Tehran, and the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament called for a reduction in the level of political relations between the two countries. According to the state news agency IRNA, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Deputy Minister for Arab and African Affairs, summoned Ishaq al-Areeni, the Saudi charge d'affaires in Tehran, on Saturday evening, January 12, to convey the Islamic Republic's "strong protest" against the execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. Amir-Abdollahian described the execution of this Shia cleric as a "disrespect" by the Saudi government to the "Islamic community and an incitement of Muslim sentiments and a new firebrand in the region." He added: "Riyadh is the main accused in the growth of terrorism and extremism in the region, and by deflecting blame and executing the prominent religious scholar martyr Sheikh Nimr under the guise of fighting terrorism, it cannot absolve itself of the wrong policies it has adopted that have led to greater insecurity in the region." Amir-Abdollahian also criticized the "violation of human rights and systematic disregard for the rights of Shia and minorities" in Saudi Arabia, calling Sheikh Nimr a "prominent scholar belonging to the Islamic world and not to a single country." The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that "none" of the accusations made in the Saudi Interior Ministry's statement "apply to Sheikh Nimr." However, according to the state news agency, the Saudi charge d'affaires stated before entering the Foreign Ministry that the execution of this Shia cleric was "judicial and religious." The Saudi Interior Ministry announced in an official statement on Saturday, January 12, that Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric and critic, was executed along with 46 others. According to Reuters, the statement broadcast on Saudi television indicated that the charges against these individuals were related to terrorism, primarily linked to al-Qaeda. On Saturday afternoon, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, described the execution of Sheikh Nimr as a sign of "the depth of Saudi mismanagement and irresponsibility." Calls for a reduction in political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, also described the Saudi government's action as "barbaric" and stated that this government has created a "quagmire" for itself by executing Sheikh Nimr. Meanwhile, according to the Tasnim news agency, Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, announced that this commission had requested a reduction in the level of political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in a letter to the Foreign Ministry. This request comes at a time when Hassan Qashqavi, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, had announced on Sunday, December 22, the introduction of a new Saudi ambassador in Tehran and stated that "a level of dialogue" had begun between Iran and Saudi Arabia regarding "bilateral relations and some regional issues." Abdulrahman bin Ghrman al-Shahri, the former Saudi ambassador to Iran, was called back to Riyadh just a few months after starting his work, and since then, the Saudi embassy in Tehran has been managed at the charge d'affaires level. Hours after the news of Sheikh Nimr's execution was released, a number of clerics and members of the Basij gathered in front of the Saudi embassy. According to the website Dana, these individuals chanted slogans such as "Death to the infidel Al Saud" and "Al Saud, the yellow jackal of the Jews." Meanwhile, another gathering is scheduled for Sunday afternoon with the presence of Basij forces in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran. According to Fars news agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also issued a statement calling the execution of this Shia cleric a "sign of Daesh-like behavior" and the "decline" of the Saudi government, emphasizing that this government "will undoubtedly pay the price for this shameful act." Reactions from Shia religious authorities and Islamic Republic officials Several officials and institutions of the Islamic Republic, including Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head, and Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of the Expediency Council, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the deputy head of the Assembly of Experts, and the Human Rights Headquarters of the Iranian Judiciary, have issued statements protesting Sheikh Nimr's execution. Several prominent clerics and religious authorities, including Nasser Makarem Shirazi, Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, Hossein Nouri Hamedani, Abdollah Javadi Amoli, and Jafar Subhani, have also condemned the execution of this Shia cleric. In protest against Sheikh Nimr's execution, seminaries will be closed on Sunday, and a gathering will also be held at the Grand Mosque of Qom. Sheikh Nimr was sentenced to death in October 2014 on charges of leading unrest and what was described as paving the way for foreign intervention in Saudi Arabia. He, who studied in Qom, was one of the influential Shia clerics in Saudi Arabia and a leader of the Shia protests in 2011, five years ago in the Qatif region in eastern Saudi Arabia. Reaction from Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Imam of Zahedan Regarding Sheikh Nimr's execution, Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Imam of Zahedan, stated that he was "affected" by the news of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr's execution and that his execution was "not in the interest of Islam and Muslims." He reported that he had previously sent a letter to Saudi officials requesting the cancellation of the execution of this Shia cleric, but they did not respond to this letter. The head of the Dar al-Uloom Sunni seminary in Zahedan and a member of the World Union of Muslim Scholars and the Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly of Mecca stated that it is unbelievable that a scholar and a prominent figure accepted by a large number of Muslims would be executed in this manner. Several political parties and figures in the Islamic Republic, including the Islamic Coalition Party and Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Reformist Policy Council, have also reacted to the execution of this Shia cleric. The execution of Sheikh Nimr and a new tension in the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran occur at a time when the two countries have had very tense relations in recent years and have fundamental disagreements over regional conflicts, including the crises in Syria and Yemen.