TEHRAN:  Iran's leaders on Sunday strongly condemned the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned as a "political mistake" al-Nimr's execution and said that "divine vengeance" is awaiting the perpetrators in the Arab state.

"The oppressed cleric neither encouraged people to take armed action nor had been involved in conspiracy. Al-Nimr was only an outspoken critic that pursued promotion of virtue and prevention of vice" on the basis of his religious honor," Khamenei was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

The Saudi officials will "very soon" pay the price for shedding his blood, he said, adding that "the Islamic world and the globe should feel responsibility for this issue."

Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday slammed the Saudi "crime" of executing Shiite leader and said such an action only serves sectarian interests.

He described the execution as "a non-Islamic and non-human act carried out with the purpose of advancing sectarian policies and encouraging terrorism and extremism," official IRNA news agency reported.

The execution of al-Nimr has violated human rights principles and Islamic values, the news of which has triggered a wave of grief across the Islamic world, he added.

Also, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif on Sunday described the execution of al-Nimr as "another step in disseminating dividing policies" in the region.

In telephone conversations with some of his regional counterparts and UN Secretary-Genaral Ban Ki-moon, Zarif condemned the Saudi "inhuman action" of executing the cleric, saying that this was "in line with spreading discord and protecting extremism which has turned the world into the hell of bloodshed," according to IRNA.

On Sunday, hundreds of Iranians staged a rally outside the Saudi Embassy's headquarters in Tehran to protest against the execution of the leading religious figure.

The protesters chanted various slogans against Saudi authorities and condemned the execution of Nimr al-Nimr.

On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that prominent Shiite al-Nimr and 46 other men were executed on terror charges.

The protesters also chanted slogans against the United States and Israel and set ablaze their flags.

They named a street adjacent to the Saudi Embassy after the slain cleric, calling it "Shahid al-Nimr" or "martyr al-Nimr."

Simultaneously, another protest rally was held in the Palestine square of the capital. They also chanted anti-Saudi slogans and set on fire the flags of the United States and Israel.

At the end of the rally, it was announced that another protest gathering will be held in Tehran's central Imam Hoessin Square on Monday.

Sunday's rallies were extension of the violent protests that broke out in Iran on Saturday following the spread of the execution news.

Angry mobs raided and set fire on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran late Saturday and police tried to drive the protesters away after they broke into its compound.

Tehran Police Chief Sardar Sajedinia said that police arrested some of those angry mobs who had "illegally" ransacked the embassy.

"Unfortunately, some (who gathered before the embassy) threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the embassy which caused fire to the building," Sajedinia was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Also on Saturday, a group of protesters set ablaze parts of the Saudi Consulate in Iran's northeastern religious city of Mashhad, Tabnak news website reported.

The protesters gathered in front of the consulate and chanted slogans against the Saudi authorities, according to the report.

They pulled down the flag of Saudi Arabia from the building of the consulate and threw hand-made crackers, which caused fire in parts of the building, it said.

On Sunday, Tehran's Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said that police have arrested 40 protesters who raided the Saudi Embassy in Tehran on Saturday night, Iran's Labor News Agency reported.

The judiciary has issued arrest warrants against others involved in storming the embassy, Dolatabadi was quoted as saying.

In an announcement on Saturday, Iran's Foreign Ministry urged the police to protect the diplomatic compounds of Saudi Arabia in the country.

Earlier in the day, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Saudi charge d'affaires in Tehran and strongly condemned the execution of al-Nimr.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian conveyed the strong protest of the Islamic republic to the Saudi envoy, Ahmed al-Muwallid, over what he called the "irresponsible behavior" of the Saudi officials in this regard, the state TV reported.

Also on Sunday, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a televised speech launched a blistering verbal attack against Saudi Arabia over the execution. However, he warned against turning the issue into a sectarian conflict.

Morocco's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the country is concerned that the situation could take an unmanageable dimension, and counts on the wisdom of Saudi and Iranian officials to prevent the current situation from spreading to other countries of the region already facing many challenges and various elements of fragility.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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