Iran's Foreign Ministry: Sheikh Nimr's Execution is a Sign of Saudi Arabia's Deep Mismanagement

Following the announcement of Sheikh Nimr's execution, a Shia cleric critical of the Saudi government, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry described Saudi Arabia as a supporter of terrorism and characterized the execution of this cleric as a sign of "deep mismanagement and irresponsibility" on the part of Saudi Arabia. On Saturday, January 1, the Saudi Ministry of Interior officially announced the execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr along with 46 others. Hours after the news broke, the ISNA news agency quoted Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, who reacted to the news by saying: "While extremist and Takfiri terrorists are depriving the region and the world of security and threatening the stability and existence of some regional governments, the execution of a figure like Sheikh Nimr, who had no means other than speaking to pursue his political and religious goals, only demonstrates the depth of mismanagement and irresponsibility." The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also accused the Saudi government of supporting "terrorist and extremist Takfiri movements" while speaking "with the language of execution and repression against domestic critics." Hossein Jaberi Ansari also predicted that the Saudi government would certainly "pay a heavy price for pursuing these policies." Prior to Mr. Ansari, in the first reaction to the news of Sheikh Nimr's execution, Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts and temporary Friday prayer leader in Tehran, called for a "decisive stance from the country's diplomatic apparatus" on this matter. The Mehr news agency also published the reaction of Abbas Kaabi, another member of the Assembly of Experts, who described Sheikh Nimr's execution as "savage" and characterized Saudi Arabia's motives for this action as "Iranophobia, Shia-phobia, proxy wars, exacerbating Sunni-Shia division, and ultimately implementing the plans of the U.S. and the Zionist regime to weaken the Islamic Ummah and suppress the Islamic awakening." Abed Fattahi, the head of the Sunni faction in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also condemned Sheikh Nimr's execution, stating that it was "an insult to humanity."