Iran warns Saudi not to crackdown Shia minority

Iran for first time warns Saudis not to crack down on Shi'ite population

NICOSIA — Iran, escalating its rhetoric against its Sunni neighbor, has warned Saudi Arabia of any crackdown on the kingdom's Shi'ite minority.

For the first time in years, the mullah regime in Teheran has begun issuing threats against the Saudi kingdom. Senior officials said Iran was warning Riyad against a crackdown on its large Shi'ite minority amid unprecedented Arab unrest.

"It [Saudi leadership] should know that the Saudi people have become vigilant and do not allow the rulers of the country to commit any possible crime against them," Iranian parliamentarian Mohammed Dehqan said.

Dehqan, regarded as a leading parliamentary ally of the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Saudi Arabia has been oppressing its people for years. The parliamentarian, a member of the presiding board, said Riyad would eventually be held accountable for abuses against Shi'ites and Sunni civilians.

In remarks reported by Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency, Dehqan suggested that Saudi Arabia, with a Shi'ite community of at least 10 percent of the kingdom, could be the next target of the Arab revolt.

Officials said Teheran has been dismayed by what was termed Saudi measures against Iranians. They said the kingdom has ignored Teheran's demands to stop fingerprinting Iranian visitors, including a soccer team that arrived in late February for the Asian Games.

"As regards the fingerprinting of [Iran's] Persepolis in the Jedda airport, we will retaliate and fingerprint Al Ittihad [soccer team] of Saudi Arabia," Hussein Naqavi, a member of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, said.

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