Iran’s Judiciary Chief Plays Down Riyadh’s Move to Sever Ties with Tehran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani attached little importance to Saudi Arabia’s move to sever diplomatic ties with Iran, saying it cannot cause any trouble for the Islamic Republic.
“The Saudis are speaking about cutting political ties; this is while they should be aware that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not need them and their lords,” Ayatollah Amoli Larijani said in a speech on Monday.
He further emphasized that the severance of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia will not cause any problem at all.
Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, severe sanctions have been imposed on Iran, but today, the country is one of the most powerful nations in the Middle East and has continued on its path livelier than ever without reliance on other countries, he added.
The Saudi foreign ministry announced on Sunday it was cutting diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic following angry protests in Iran at the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr by Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 prisoners, including Sheikh Nimr, on Saturday drew global condemnation.
The executions took place in 12 cities in Saudi Arabia, four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading. The bodies were then hanged from gibbets in the most severe form of punishment available in the kingdom's law.
Sheikh Nimr had been detained in July 2012 on charges of delivering anti-regime speeches and defending political prisoners.
