How Iran killed Shia cleric Nimr Al Nimr

By Dr Saad bin Tefla Al Ajmi

In principle I am not here to express happiness for the death of anybody even if he is Nimr Baqir Al Nimr or Faris Al Shuwail Al Qaeda’s theoretician. What is needed here is to understand the reasons why they have been killed along with another 45 people in accordance with the Saudi law three days ago. I am not going to talk here about the law which was implemented strictly without differentiating between Sunnis and Shias.

The death of Al Nimr created Shia political reactions triggered by Iran and those spinning in its orbit in Iraq Syria Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. These reactions included acts violating international law as well as principles of international relations such as assaults on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the Consulate in the religious city of Mashhad which is frequently visited by many Saudis and other nationalities.

In a provocative and highly publicised act Iran named one of the roads in Mashhad city in Al Nimr’s name. The assaults on the embassy made Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic ties with Iran and ask the Irani ambassador and diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. Iran’s reaction not only violated international law but it also galvanised mobs of Basij and Pasdaran and their supporters in an open abhorrent move that was similar tothose of the lawless administration of Iran.

Iran’s support for what the Houthis have been doing in Yemen is the best evidence of Iran’swillingness to violate the law. Perhaps it also contributed to the death of Al Nimr through its verbal escalation and threats made to the Saudi Kingdom about what it would do if Saudi Arabia killed him forgetting that Al Nimr is a Saudi national. Iran wrongly predicted the thinking of decision makers in Saudi Arabia which has been leading a war against the Houthis and their allies in Yemen for many months.

Saudi Arabia did not have the option of delaying the execution or changing the punishment into a prison sentence because if this happened it would be seen by Iran and its supporters as submission to their threats. Thus Iran killed its strongman in Saudi Arabia politically before killing him physically through its blatant interference in Saudi affairs. A country which is leading the war against the Houthis’ terror and an established Islamic alliance to fight terrorism whether it is Sunni or Shia terror never bows to Iran’s threats or its interference in its local affairs.

There is no difference between Nimr who announced his pledge of allegiance to the Guardian of the Islamic Jurists in Iran and those who supported the Caliphate of Abu Baker Al Baghdadi the leader of IS. Anyone who announces a pledge to Tehran or Al Raka has announced his loyalty and obedience to the Caliphate and the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Therefore if asked to blast mosques in Kuwait or to fight the people of Syria or to put bombs in Bahrain or any security check point it will not hesitate to implement the orders.

This is the reality: Nimr Al Namr was Hasan Mishaima of Iran in Bahrain and Abdul Malik Al Houthi is Hasan Nasrallah in Yemen. Al Battat Al Amiri and Al Muhandis and others in Iraq and several personalities in Kuwait including a Kuwaiti Parliament member announced their loyalty to the Guardian of the Islamic Jurists in Tehran. I think they are all singing from the same song sheet. Daesh/ ISIL/ISIS Hizbollah Ansarallah Asa’ibAhl Al Haq Al Faidila and Al Qaeda etc all use religious slogans but there is no difference in behaviour between the supporters of the Guardian of the Islamic Jurists and those paid allegiance to Al Baghdadi.

Nimr was the ‘Trojan horse’ of Iran in Saudi Arabia. He is like tens of Shia political outfits planted by Iran in Arab countries. Iran funds them provides weapons and teaches them the ideology of the Guardian of the Islamic Jurists in a bid to exploit them to create sectarian violence. When Arab Shia reject the Guardian of the Islamic Jurists they meet with carrots and sticks. But the Saudi resistance intensifies day-by-day. Perhaps getting rid of Nimr by Iran and before this the Houthis will be a lessons to those who think that Iran can rescue and protect them.

Arab Shi’as have no safe haven anywhere except in their own countries. Arab countries should provide Shia nationals a decent life and equality like other citizens but should deal with an iron-fist with those who express loyalties to any outsiders whether they to the ‘Caliphate’ of Sunnis or the Guardian of Shias.

Some good advice was given by Kuwaiti thinker Khalil Ali Haydar to Arab Shias in his articles in which one question was raised — who are more important to Arab Shias: Saudi Arabia or Iran? His latest article addressed Arab Shias in general and Kuwaitis in particular and is available on: http://alwatan.kuwait.tt.

The writer is an academician and media expert.