Europe, Sympathetic to Iran, Slams Saudi Executions; Qatar, Jordan, Djibouti and Turkey Back Saudi Arabia; Turkish President Calls Saudi Arabia's Execution of Shia Leader "a Domestic Issue"
Europe, Sympathetic To Iran, Slams Saudi Executions
Europe is showing a lot less willingness than the U.S. to look the other way on the Saudi executions.
Antiwar.com - Historically cozy US-Saudi relations have kept the Obama
Administration relatively quiet on the weekend Saudi execution of a top
Shi’ite cleric, a move that US officials warned them against and which
they did anyhow.
Europe, however, is showing a lot less willingness to look the other way on the Saudi executions, and while the Saudis scramble to get other Sunni nations to cut ties with Iran, the incident seems to be increasing Europe’s sympathies for Iran, and by consequence bolstering their ties.
It’s not surprising, as Europe has already been critical of Saudi war crimes in Yemen, and is opposed to the death penalty in general, making the execution of a religious leader on the basis of his sermons kind of a no-brainer for them to condemn.
Meanwhile, Iran is seen as increasingly reasonable, scrambling to comply with the terms of the P5+1 nuclear deal, and quick to condemn protesters attacking the Saudi embassy in Tehran. The Saudis are treating it as a government plot, but Iran arrested dozens of protesters involved in the attack and has made it clear publicly they don’t endorse attacks on the embassies.
Indeed, Iran was making a public show of being part of a community of critics against the Saudi execution, with President Rouhani hosting the Danish Foreign Minister in Tehran before issuing a statement warning that the Saudis aren’t going to distract attention from the “criminal” execution by simply cutting ties with Iran.
Qatar the latest to back Saudi Arabia in Iran row
January 6, 2016
Al Jazeera - Qatar has become the latest country to back Saudi Arabia in its dispute with Iran, recalling its ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions last weekend.
Jordan, Djibouti, and Turkey also expressed pro-Saudi positions on Wednesday after the embassy attacks in Iran that followed the execution of a renowned Shia leader in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the execution of 47 men for terrorism charges in Saudi Arabia was "a domestic issue". One of those put to death was Shia Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr - a move that stirred sectarian anger across the region.
"Forty-six of those who were executed are Sunni and they are executed because they are affiliated with al-Qaeda. One of them was a Shia religious leader. This decision was previously taken and Saudi Arabia implemented it. This is their decision," Erdogan said in a speech in the capital Ankara.
The president also said those who remained silent about the deaths of people in Syria's civil war were causing an uproar over the execution of one person in Saudi Arabia, apparently referring to Iran though he did not name names.
"You are giving your support [to the Syrian regime] either implicitly or openly. You are giving financial and weapons support to the murderer [President Bashar] Assad," Erdogan said. "The Saudi Arabian embassy [in Iran] was hit with rocket launchers. Its embassy in Iraq was also vandalised. This is not acceptable in terms of international relations."
Meanwhile, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani
asked the country's judiciary on Wednesday to urgently prosecute the
people who attacked the Saudi missions.
"By punishing the attackers and those who orchestrated this obvious offence, we should put an end once and forever to such damage and insults to Iran's dignity and national security," Rouhani was quoted as saying in a letter published on the state news agency IRNA.
Djibouti cut diplomatic relations with Iran
in response to the storming of the Saudi embassy. The tiny Horn of
Africa nation joins Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Sudan in entirely severing
relations with Shia Muslim Iran.
"Djibouti cut its diplomatic ties with Iran out of solidarity with Saudi Arabia," Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf told Reuters news agency in a text message.
Meanwhile, Jordan summoned Iran's ambassador in Amman on Wednesday to condemn the embassy attack, and "Iranian interference" in Arab affairs, according to Jordanian state news agency Petra.
Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy and other diplomatic posts early Sunday. Since the attacks, Iran says it has made arrests and has criticised the violent protesters.
Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, predicted "divine vengeance" for the execution of Nimr.
Those truly concerned about destiny of humans, human rights & justice, must watch Saudi crimes & avoid indifference toward them. #SheikhNimr
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 3, 2016
Saudi army’s oppressing of Bahrainis & destruction of their homes & months of bombing of Yemenis are other cases of Saudi regime’s crimes.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 3, 2016
#SheikhNimr’s martyrdom & unfair bloodshed is Saudi govt’s political mistake. Islamic world & whole world must be concerned about the crime.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 3, 2016
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