At UN, Saudi Arabia says 47 executed were granted fair trials

After a furious response in Shia communities worldwide to the Sunni kingdom’s execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iran was creating “terrorist cells” among the kingdom’s Shia minority.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have erupted into a full-blown diplomatic crisis as Riyadh and its Sunni Arab allies cut or reduced ties with Tehran, sparking global concern.

The move comes after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties to Iran over the storming of two diplomatic posts in the country following the kingdom’s execution of a top Shiite cleric who was also an opposition figure.

Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday it had executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others on charges of terrorism.

Since then, Iranians have attacked several embassies in Tehran including those of Kuwait in 1987, Saudi Arabia in 1988, Denmark in 2006 and Britain in 2011.

Citing Tehran’s “blatant and unsafe interference” in its region and other Arab countries, Bahrain too severed all its diplomatic relations with Iran.

Bahrain, a tiny island off the coast of Saudi Arabia, is predominantly Shiite, but ruled by Sunnis.

Saudi Arabia has not officially commented on whether the kingdom’s severing of ties with Iran also meant that pilgrims from Iran can no longer attend the hajj.

Iran has been a long-time supporter of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, while Saudi Arabia has provided the rebel factions fighting Assad with financial assistance and weapons.

The Saudi envoy spoke as the UN Security Council haggled over the wording of a statement on the Saudi-Iranian tensions.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest also said the United States “certainly would condemn any country that’s carrying out mass executions” and warned that the dispute between Tehran and Riyadh would make it more hard to push warring sides in the Syrian conflict toward a political solution.

The U.N. peace envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, heads for Saudi Arabia and Iran for talks aimed at defusing tensions.

Saudi Arabia has broken off diplomatic relations with Iran and is cutting trade and air links.

Al-Nimr was an outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia’s Sunni monarchy but denied ever calling for violence.

The executions took place in 12 cities in Saudi Arabia, four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading.

“Every time something happens, we always take it seriously, because we don’t want any further deterioration of the safety of people in the Middle East”, Elmenyawi said. The PA, and the Fatah faction that leads it, has had a strained relationship with Iran because of its support of its rival, Hamas.

The statement by the 15-member council, which called on Iran to protect diplomatic personnel and property, made no mention of the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

“Such action constitutes a flagrant breach of global conventions and violation of Iran’s worldwide commitment over security and safety of diplomatic missions on its lands”, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said.

France asked that the powers “do everything in their power to prevent the exacerbation of sectarian and religious tensions”.