“The execution of a personality such as Sheikh Nimr who had no means other than speech to pursue his political and religious objectives only shows the depth of imprudence and irresponsibility,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Saturday.
“The Saudi government supports terrorists and Takfiri extremists, while talking to its critics at home with the language of execution and suppression,” he said.
Sheikh Nimr’s execution comes while “Takfiri terrorists and extremists have taken away peace and security from regional nations and the world and are threatening the existence of some governments in the region,” said the Iranian official.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari
“It is clear that the consequences of this abortive and irresponsible policy will befall those behind it and the Saudi government will pay a heavy price for following such policies,” Jaberi Ansari added.
On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that Sheikh Nimr along with 47 others, who were convicted of being involved “terrorism” and adopting a “Takfiri” ideology, had been put to death.
The Shia figure’s execution has drawn angry reactions worldwide. Widespread protest rallies are expected to be held around the word to condemn Riyadh, which is already beefing up security in the Shia-dominated Qatif region of Eastern Province, according to reports, PRESS TV reports.
Sheikh Nimr, a critic of the Riyadh regime, was shot by Saudi police and arrested in 2012 in the Qatif region of Shia-dominated Eastern Province, which was the scene of peaceful anti-regime demonstrations at the time.
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.
The Saudi kingdom has long been under fire at the international level for its grim human rights record.