http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-03/saudi-execution-of-shiite-cleric-nimr-al-n...

Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and 46 other men has prompted outrage in parts of the Middle East, including the kingdom's embassy in Tehran which was stormed by protesters and set on fire.

Forty-seven people, mostly suspected Al Qaeda members but also Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, were executed after being convicted of adopting the radical "takfiri" ideology, joining "terrorist organisations" and implementing various "criminal plots".

A crowd of angry protesters hurled petrol bombs and stormed the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran early on Sunday morning (local time) before being cleared out by police.

External Link: Tehran video
Pictures and video on social media showed parts of the building's interior on fire and smashed furniture inside one office.

Journalist Sobhan Hassanvand, from the local Shargh newspaper, filmed protesters throwing what appeared to be Molotov cocktails and trashing the embassy.

The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) said the embassy caught fire and the interior was destroyed.

"The police are everywhere and have dispersed the demonstrators, some of whom have been arrested," ISNA said

Another witness who lives locally said he saw members of the Basij militia position themselves in front of the embassy building.

"They were throwing Molotov cocktails at the Saudi embassy," the witness said.

"It began with 15 or 20 people but I saw others joining them from nearby streets."

Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling for calm and urging protesters to respect the diplomatic premises, the Entekhab news website reported.

Iraqi leaders question Saudi alliance

Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards promised "harsh revenge" against the Saudi Sunni royal dynasty for the execution of Sheikh Nimr, considered a terrorist by Riyadh but hailed in Iran as a champion of the rights of Saudi Arabia's marginalised Shiite minority.

Sheikh Nimr, the most vocal critic of the dynasty among the Shiite minority, had come to be seen as a leader of the sect's younger activists, who had tired of the failure of older, more measured leaders to achieve equality with Sunnis.

In Iraq, whose Shiite-led government is close to Iran, prominent religious and political figures demanded that ties with Riyadh be severed, calling into question Saudi attempts to forge a regional alliance against Islamic State, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Saudi Arabia is running out of oil.

No oil means no one wants to go anywhere near them

They know they need to Westernise more and more

Sacrificing a few insignificant radical muslims is no big deal