Breaking News English

A war of words has broken [up / out] between Iran and Saudi Arabia [followed / following] the execution of a religious figure by Saudi authorities on Saturday. The Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was [among / aiming] 47 men the Saudi Arabian government put [at / to] death on terrorism charges. Saudi leaders said Mr al-Nimr had led anti-government protests in the east [of / by] the country in 2011-2012. He was previously convicted [at / of] disobedience and of bearing arms. Al-Nimr maintained he never [carrying / carried] weapons or called for violence but had encouraged Shia Muslims to [consist / resist] police bullets using "the [roar / rear] of the word" instead. Iran's leaders said al-Nimr was killed for being a Shia Muslim. Saudi Arabia is a [largest / largely] Sunni Muslim country.

Protests against the execution took [place / peace] in the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday. Demonstrators [stirred / stormed] the Saudi Arabian embassy and set parts of it on [fire / fired] . Iran's foreign ministry said Saudi Arabia would pay a "[heavy / heavily] price" for the execution, including the possible downfall of its government. The Saudi government said Iran had no right to create tensions and said the execution was an [external / internal] Saudi matter. The foreign ministry said the [killed / killing] of Mr al-Nimr had nothing to do with his [been / being] a Shia Muslim. It said: "There is no difference [among / between] what a person does [regardless / regarding] of his ethnic origin or affiliation, or what he believes. We deal with facts and criminal [intent / content] ."