KABUL: (MEP) Iranian people on Saturday evening attacked Saudi Arabia embassy in Tehran, fuming over the Saudi execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh al-Nimr.
Nimr al-Nimr, 56 years old who spent more than a decade studying theology in Iran, was a driving figure behind anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia in 2011.
The executions sparked protests in at least one city in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province, where Shiites complain of marginalization, as well as in Iran, Iraq and Bahrain.
The strongest condemnation came from Riyadh’s longtime rival Tehran.
Police used tear gas in Tehran after a crowd of angry protesters broke into the Saudi embassy, ravaging its offices and throwing Molotov cocktails at the building. The chaos broke out at a rally set off by Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
One of the protesters was also pictured holding a torn Saudi flag, which was reportedly brought down at the compound, outside the embassy.
An eyewitness said, the fire has destroyed the interior of the embassy, & the police are everywhere and have dispersed the demonstrators, some of whom have been arrested.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries due to the violence. Photos from inside the ravaged ground floor appear to show it is now empty.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said, the Saudi government supports terrorist movements and extremists, but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution.
It will “pay a high price for following these policies,” he warned.
Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki called Iran’s reaction “irresponsible”, and Riyadh called Tehran’s diplomat in protest.
In Mashhad, Iran’s second biggest city, demonstrators meanwhile set fire to the Saudi consulate, according to news site.
