UN Condemns Attacks on Saudi Posts in Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in the wake of the monarchy’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 other people.
The UN council released a statement late on Monday after hours of negotiations, deploring the attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
The statement further called on Tehran and Riyadh "to maintain dialogue and take steps to reduce tensions in the region”, but made no mention of the execution of the cleric on trumped-up charges in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.
The angry protests in the two Iranian cities traced their roots to Saudi Arabia's execution of the leading cleric as well as the monarchy’s interventionist and destabilizing policies toward the region.
In response to the protests in Tehran, the Saudi government on Sunday announced that Riyadh was ceasing its diplomatic relations with Tehran.
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in Tehran's first response that by severing diplomatic ties, Riyadh could not cover up "its major mistake of executing Sheikh Nimr".
Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 prisoners, including Sheikh Nimr, on Saturday drew global condemnation.
The executions took place in 12 cities in Saudi Arabia, four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading. The bodies were then hanged from gibbets in the most severe form of punishment available in the kingdom's law.
Sheikh Nimr had been detained in July 2012 on charges of delivering anti-regime speeches and defending political prisoners.
