Iran tantrum not good for regional peace

The protests by Iran in the aftermath of the execution of 47 people deemed by Saudi Arabia as terrorists and dissidents are unjustified and have nothing to do with sectarian differences between Sunnis and Shias.

Tehran's anger was driven by the execution of a Shia cleric Nimr Baqr Al Nimr who was convicted alongside 47 other people for terrorism and other criminal activities.

In the aftermath of the executions, angry mobs invaded the Saudi embassy in the capital Tehran and the Consulate in Mashhad which were vandalised before being set ablaze while police officers stood impassively without intervening.

An infuriated Saudi Arabia, citing Iran's attitude not to abide by the Geneva Conventions which protect diplomatic missions took an unprecedented measure and severed diplomatic ties with Iran, a move which was also followed up by other counties that included Sudan, Bahran, Djibouti, Somalia while Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, United Arab Emirates downgraded their diplomatic relations with Iran.

Shia majority Iran has been keen to portray that the execution of Al Nimr was carried out on the basis of his faith and has alleged further that this is part of the injustices being perpetrated against Shia minorities in the Sunni majority Saudi Arabia.

In the list of the 47 people who were executed, four of the condemned were Shias and the remaining 43 were all Sunnis who included Faris al-Shuwail - considered to be a leading Al Qaeda figure who was accused of being behind attacks against security establishments.

Al Nimr was known to be an extremist Shia figure who openly called for the overthrow of the Saudi regime and replacing it with a Shia theocracy. His vivid lectures calling for secession of the Eastern Province as well as rebellion and violence against the Saudi authorities are available on YouTube and other social media platforms.

Even though they had opposing ideologies, Al Nimr and Shuwail shared similar extremist views against the Saudi regime which they considered to be heretical and consistently called for its overthrow.

According to Saudi judicial authorities, the 47 were convicted of incitement to violence and pushing their followers to commit murder against innocent people.

Al Nimr and Shuwail were found guilty after a lengthy judicial process after being accused of supporting criminal groups who participated in attacks against security agents and foreigners.

While Iran has come out strongly against the executions, it is in no position to claim moral outrage over the executions as it has a long history of carrying out death sentences against dissidents from minorities particularly Kurds and Baloch Arabs who are Sunnis.

Last October, a leading Iranian Sunni religious figure Shahram Ahadi and his younger brother Bahram Ahmadi were executed with five other preachers. In 2012, the Supreme Court in Tehran ratified the executions of 27 Sunni preachers and Sheikhs having accused them of "insurrection."

Iran has also developed a habit of disregarding the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and angry mobs with tacit support from the government have frequently stormed embassies since 1979.

On November 4, 1979, militants invaded and occupied the US Embassy in Tehran and held American diplomats hostage for 444 days. In 2011, protesting students rampaged through the UK embassy and Britain responded by shutting down its mission which reopened after four years. In the aftermath of the embassy attack, Britain said it could not have happened without the tacit consent of the Iranian regime.

While under international law, attacking a foreign embassy is a causus belli (an act of war), in most instances, little action is taken by Iranian authorities against mobs who attack diplomatic missions.

The execution of Al Nimr is being seen by some as a catalyst to inflame tensions between Sunnis and Shia but this is not true as the action taken by Saudi Arabia was a domestic criminal matter devoid of any religious linkage and there was no reason for Iran to raise its fury over the issue.

Regrettably, Iran is keen on using the incident to foment strife in the region as part of its geopolitical battle for supremacy which has contributed to conflict and instability in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain and other countries.