Saudi executions will fuel sectarian tension in the region: US State Department
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WASHINGTON: U.S. officials who pursuing high-level contacts with both countries Sunday in an effort to reduce the escalating tensions, said the State Department had been holding discussions for months with the Saudis about Washington’s concern over the planned executions and their potential to fuel sectarian strife.
“We have raised at every level of the State Department our concerns about judicial practices with Saudi officials, to include the (al-Nemer) case,” State Department spokesperson John Kirby said.
Sunday’s protests were largely peaceful, but followed violence the previous night during which Iranians threw Molotov cocktails at the Saudi embassy in Tehran, setting parts of it on fire. There were also protests at the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city.
Crowds of incensed Shiite Muslims demonstrated in cities from Tehran to Beirut, condemning the death of Nemer al-Nemer a prominent Shiite cleric put to death in the mass execution of 47 prisoners on Saturday and calling for the downfall of the Saudi government.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that Saudi Arabia would face divine retribution for Mr. al-Nemer’s execution.(WSJ)