Nimr execution aims to trigger sectarian strife: Iran cleric

A senior Iranian cleric says the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr indicates that Saudi Arabia seeks to trigger sectarian strife between Shia and Sunni Muslims.

“Certainly, this crime has not been [committed] without the US knowledge…and we know that it is in line with creating a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shias,” Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi said on Saturday.

He added that Saudis take every action after consulting with the US; however, they should know that Shia Muslims have no conflict with Sunnis but that they oppose Takfiris.

He said Nimr’s execution left no doubt that Saudi Arabia is the hub for Takfiri ideology in the world.

“Al Saud must know that this crime will not be forgotten and that they will see the consequences of this unwise act in the future,” the senior Iranian cleric pointed out.

Nimr’s execution paves way for Al Saud fall

Another top Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani also condemned Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Nimr which he said “once again showed the criminal nature” of Al Saud regime.

He added that the execution of the well-known Shia cleric awakened the Muslim world, stressing that his death “will pave the way for the [Al Saud] regime’s fall.”

Shia, Sunni scholars must react to Nimr execution

Senior Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani also expressed regret over Saudi Arabia’s “spiteful and cruel” move to execute Sheikh Nimr.

“Saudi Arabia has a superstitious religion which, backed by the US and the Zionists, is training Takfiris, Daesh and Boko Haram to introduce Islam as a violent religion,” he said.

He called on Shia and Sunni scholars to react to Sheikh Nimr’s execution.

On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that Sheikh Nimr along with 46 others, who were convicted of being involved in “terrorism” and adopting a “Takfiri” ideology, had been put to death.

Sheikh Nimr, a critic of the Riyadh regime, was arrested in 2012 in the Qatif region of Shia-dominated Eastern Province, which was the scene of peaceful anti-regime demonstrations at the time.

He was charged with instigating unrest and undermining the kingdom’s security, making anti-government speeches and defending political prisoners. He had rejected all the charges as baseless.

In 2014, a Saudi court sentenced Sheikh Nimr to death, provoking widespread global condemnations. The sentence was upheld last March by the appeal court of Saudi Arabia.

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