Iran

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards have warned Saudi Arabia that they will suffer a “harsh revenge” following the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.  Iran have warned that “the unjustly spilled blood of this oppressed martyr will no doubt soon show its effect and divine vengeance will befall Saudi politicians.” Express.co.uk reports: The move appeared to end any hopes that the common enemy of ISIS could lead to rapprochement between the two countries.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has posted controversial images on his website which liken the executions in Saudi Arabia with the practises of ISIS.  The provocative images depicts an ISIS fighter holding a knife above a hostage, alongside an image of a Saudi executioner brandishing a sword with a prisoner kneeling before him. The text reads “any differences?” above the two images. Independent.co.uk reports: The image comes as the Iranian supreme leader renewed his attack on Saudi Arabia over its execution of leading Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr-al Nimr.

Earlier today, as Iranian police struggled to disperse protesters gathered outside the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, we said the following about the rapidly deteriorating situation:

A top Iranian official has threatened the U.S. with the development of ballistic missiles with a range of 5,000 kilometers after new sanctions were imposed on Iran.  Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said that if America presses ahead with its sanctions against Iran the country will take it “as a slap to our country”. Rt.com reports: “The US will regret its behavior and realize that such actions cause no benefit,” Rezaei stressed. Rezaei also thanked Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani for his quick response to US threats.

On Christmas Day, 2015, we told our readers the fascinating tale about the Turkish-Iranian gold smuggling ring - perhaps the biggest and most brazen in history, one which lasted for years, which saw billions in gold transported out of Turkey and into Iran to allow Tehran to circumvent the western financial sanctions using gold as a medium for bater, and which was all made possible thanks to the tiny Emirate of Dubai. 

What made this particular instance of gold smuggling especially memorable is that it reached to the very political top in both Turkey, and Iran, and Dubai.