Saudi Execution Spurs Strife with Iran

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image courtesy of The Australian

An Iranian woman in Tehran displays a poster showing Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the Shi’ite cleric who was executed by Saudi Arabia

Anna Landre, Staff Writer

Tensions between the already feuding countries seemed to reach an all-time high last week, as Saudi Arabia severed all diplomatic and commercial relations with Iran. This came in the aftermath of Saudi Arabia’s mass execution of 47 prisoners, including outspoken Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Al-Nimr was executed by Saudi authorities for allegedly fomenting terrorism and violence against the state. However, his supporters say that al-Nimr was only calling for the peaceful overthrow of the Saudi royal family. Iran, a predominantly Shi’ite nation, quickly condemned the his execution, claiming that the predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia was looking to target Shi’ite religious leaders.

The current conflict is an extension of sectarian tensions going back centuries in the Middle East, and escalated further as Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was stormed by Iranian protesters. Saudi diplomats were quickly pulled out of Iran, and soon after, the Saudi government gave Iranian diplomats in Riyadh forty-eight hours to leave the country willingly, or be forcibly removed. Both nations claim that the other is looking to instigate violence, and the gap between them widens every day.

The worsening situation is even overflowing past the borders of Saudi Arabia and Iran, with nations including Somalia, Bahrain, Sudan, and Djibouti also breaking diplomatic ties with Iran, as a show of support for the Saudis. Likewise, in Yemen, where both nations fight a proxy war for control of the country, the latest ceasefire collapsed this weekend. Iran also claimed on Thursday that Saudi warplanes had attacked its embassy in Yemen, which Saudi Arabia said it would further investigate.

“The tensions between the two countries could potentially cause more division and problems within a region that has seen horrors with the rise of the Islamic State and the tensions between Israel and Palestine,” reflects Murat Alpa, a junior at FTHS. “However, the main loser in this conflict is potentially the United States, as it is allied with the Saudi government while at the same time, is trying to make sure Iran follows the nuclear deal that was agreed upon last year.”

The recent mass execution in Saudi Arabia belies a larger trend towards more hard-line actions by the new Saudi King. Last January, King Abdullah died at the age of 90, leaving King Salman as his successor. Abdullah was known as a cautious reformer, and was often at odds with hard-line religious leaders. It seems that Salman, however, will favor more bold, hard-line actions during his reign, which could have widespread implications for Saudi relations with Iran, and for the region as a whole.