A brief history of embassy attacks in Iran

Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shi’ite Muslim cleric provoked sectarian anger across the Middle East, but by putting to death dozens of Al-Qaida convicts at the same time it also delivered a strong message that Sunni violence would not be tolerated at home.

The Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric, sparked outrage throughout the Middle East, including the primarily Shiite country of Iran.

Moqtada al-Sadr, an anti-American Shi’ite leader, called for “angry demonstrations” on Monday in Najaf and at the gate of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone where the Saudi embassy is located.

Of those executed, Saudi Arabia said 45 were Saudi citizens, one was from Chad and another was from Egypt.

By 4 p.m., some 400 protesters had gathered in front of the embassy despite a call by the government for them to protest at a square in central Tehran.

Armoured vehicles have been seen entering Qatif, with resistance groups in the area calling for people to join the protests against the execution of Sheikh al-Nimr, who had much popular support in the Shia community.

Across the region, protesters also took to the streets.

Some of the protesters broke into the embassy and threw papers off the roof, and police worked to disperse the crowd, Sajedinia told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

The simultaneous execution of 47 people – 45 Saudis, one Egyptian and a man from Chad – was the biggest mass execution for security offences in Saudi Arabia since the 1980 killing of 63 jihadist rebels who seized Mecca’s Grand Mosque in 1979. In al-Daih, west of the capital, Shiite protesters chanted against Saudi Arabia’s ruling Al Saud family, as well as against Bahrain’s ruling Al Khalifa family.

Al-Nimr’s execution and the ensuing protests further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and Shiite-ruled Iran.

Moreover, Iranian foreign ministry also strongly criticised the execution.

The other executed individuals were convicted for acts of terror and having extremist ideology, including some who were a part of plotting and carrying out the 2004 attacks against civilians on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah.

Nimr, who spent more than a decade studying theology in Iran, was among a group of 47 Shiites and Sunnis executed Saturday on charges of terrorism.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement Sunday Nimr’s death would lead to the “downfall” of Saudi Arabia’s monarchy.

Mansour al-Turki, a spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry, said the kingdom “doesn’t pay attention to external threats or comments made by officials in other countries about judicial measures and procedures in Saudi Arabia”. Already on Saturday there were public calls for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to shut the embassy down again.

The incidents came after the United States and European Union expressed alarm at the executions, with Washington warning Riyadh risked “exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when they urgently need to be reduced”.