Vienna Calls for Tehran-Riyadh Dialogue Amid Tensions Over Saudi Executions

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said that he spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir and underlined importance of restraint and dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz called on Sunday for "restraint and dialogue" between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the wake of recent executions of 47 people carried out by Riyadh, including the one of a prominent Shia cleric.

On Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh al-Nimr, an outspoken critic of the Saudi monarchy, along with 46 other people convicted of terrorism. Demonstrators protesting in Tehran against the execution of Sheikh al-Nimr attacked the Saudi embassy later that day.

"Just spoke w @JZarif [Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif] & al Jubeir [Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir], underlined importance of restraint & dialogue, reiterated our rejection of death penalty," Kurz said in a Twitter posting.

Just spoke w @JZarif & al Jubeir, underlined importance of restraint & dialogue,reiterated our rejection of death penalty #Iran #SaudiArabia

— Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) January 3, 2016

​According to media reports, the protests in Tehran resumed on Sunday.

Sheikh al-Nimr rose to prominence during the 2011 anti-government protests in the Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia, where the Shiite population says they are being discriminated against. He was sentenced to death on charges of inciting hatred and disobedience to the Saudi king in 2014.