Riyadh hits back at Iran over execution criticisms

Riyadh: Riyadh has strongly condemned hostile statements by the Iranian regime against the execution of 47 convicts in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

According to an official source from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tehran’s reaction “unveils its real face in support of terrorism which is considered a continuation of its policy aiming to destabilise the security of the region”.

“By defending and justifying the acts of terrorists, the Iranian regime is considered a partner of their crimes and completely accountable for its provocative policy”, a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

The Iranian regime is the last in the world who could accuse others of supporting terrorism since it is a terrorism-sponsor state which has been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations and a number of countries, the source added.

Several Iranian governmental agencies are on the UN terror list and Iran has been a safe haven for a number of Al Qaida leaders since 2001, the source said. Iranian authorities have also provided protection to a Saudi citizen wanted over the Al Khobar explosions by the so-called Hezbollah Al Hijaz in 1996 and the culprit was arrested last year carrying an Iranian passport, the source said.

Many Arab states complain of blatant Iranian interference in their affairs through the use of its proxies such as Shiite militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Just last year, Kuwait uncovered a terrorist cell directly linked to Iran and Hezbollah and Bahrain discovered a massive weapons cache smuggled into the country by Iranian proxies.

The source pointed out that while Iran ‘feigns’ concern over human rights issues in Saudi Arabia, it ignores the executions of hundreds of its own citizens without clear legal justification.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed 47 people convicted of “terrorism”, including a prominent Shiite cleric Nimr Al Nimr who was behind anti-government protests, the interior ministry said.

Iran and its regional proxies reacted angrily to the killing of Al Nimr.

The Saudi ministry statement, carried by the official SPA news agency, said the 47 had been convicted of adopting the radical “takfiri” ideology, joining “terrorist organisations” and implementing various “criminal plots”.

The list also includes Sunnis convicted of involvement in Al Qaida attacks that killed Saudis and foreigners in the kingdom in 2003 and 2004.

Those executed include an Egyptian and a Chadian. The rest were all Saudis.

The list includes Faris Al Showail which Saudi media outlets have described as the top religious leader of Al Qaida in Saudi Arabia. He was arrested in August 2004.

Authorities in the kingdom set up specialised courts in 2011 to try dozens of Saudis and foreigners accused of belonging to Al Qaida or of participating in the wave of attacks that swept the country from 2003.

Those shootings and bombings killed more than 150 Saudis and foreigners.

The kingdom’s current Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef oversaw a crackdown on the militants at the time.

But Al Nimr was arrested for completely different reasons in 2012. The interior ministry had described him at the time as an “instigator of sedition”.