Tension Between Saudi Arabia and Iran Intensifies: Iran Warns of “Divine Revenge”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, while condemning Saudi Arabia’s execution of al-Nimr, also branded those who attacked the Saudi Embassy as “extremists”.

Al-Nimr was a central figure in protests by Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority until his arrest in 2012, and his execution drew condemnation from Shiites across the region. Angry Iranian protesters against the execution of Nimr al-Nimr raided and set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran late Saturday.

The New York Times reported protesters gathered outside of the embassy and began throwing Molotov cocktails at the building. It is essential that diplomatic missions are properly protected and respected.

Mr Ellwood said: ” We have discussed with the authorities in Riyadh, and expect that Ali Al-Nimr and others who were convicted as juveniles will not be executed.

The 56-year-old Shia cleric was put to death along with 46 Shia activists and Sunnis who the Saudi interior ministry said were involved in al Qaeda killings.

Elsewhere in Iran, the Saudi flag was torn down from the consulate in the city of Mashhad.

Al-Abadi tweeted last night that he was “shocked and saddened” by al-Nimr’s execution, adding that “peaceful opposition is a fundamental right”.

“It is unjustifiable”, he said in a statement.

“During the long conversation, HRVP Mogherini was informed of the incident at the Saudi embassy and of the steps taken by the Iranian authorities to defuse the tensions and protect the Saudi diplomats”, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said following the phone talks between the officials. During the Arab Spring, Shiite protesters adopted Nimr as a symbolic leader.

Al-Nimr’s execution promises to open a rancorous new chapter in the ongoing Sunni-Shiite power struggle playing out across the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and Iran as the primary antagonists.

However, the sheikh’s brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, told The Associated Press that Saudi officials told his family that the cleric was already buried in an undisclosed cemetery.

The federal government is decrying a mass execution in Saudi Arabia which killed 47 people, including a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric. On Saturday there were calls for the embassy to be shut down again.