According to u Iran is executing people who it see fit (according to Islam), isn't it what SA doing?
I'd appreciate honest answers for my next question, I read on several sites that Iran is hunting it's opposition and doesn't agree with pluralism.
Is it true?
Let me give you my opinion. But understand firstly that Iranians on this site (and in the country) have diverse thoughts, so my opinion is just my opinion, not the opinion of 80 million Iranians.
Personally, I think any country can take any action that ensures its stability. I believe stability is the highest priority of a government. Society's form governments, to ensure stability.
So, from own perspective, I don't really care how Saudis treat their own citizens. However, from a geopolitical perspective, I think it is an idiotic move for Saudi. On the same day they executed prisoners from both sects, to show to their country that they will not tolerate any sect that wants to shake the status quo. Fine, but that just means creating more enemies for themselves! Just imagine, how many enemies Saudi has created in just one day. They could have put that Shia cleric in jail for the next few decades, and he couldn't do anything, but by executing him, they will fuel the hatred towards their own government much more.
Iran has been facing attempts to destabilize the country for more than three decades, so the government has become smarter. They don't execute any dissidents that will create instability for them. Most are drug carriers, murderers, terrorists, or rapists, and which does not cause most Iranians to feel much sympathy for them. Even the few cases the west uses to brandish all over the media seems to garner more sympathy OUTSIDE Iran than INSIDE Iran.
Which brings me to you question that does Iran hunt its opposition. This was massive immediately after the revolution, but it has come down more and more each decade, the reason is that the country has learned how better to control opposition. For example, the country doesn't go after the monarchies or the communists or the MEK terrorists overseas, because those guys have barely any influence in the country. Those guys with their satellite channels broadcasting into Iran make more fools of themselves then if Iran actually goes after that. Iran has learned that the best way to fight them is to MOCK them, by sometimes showing them in the official TV channels, so the public laughs at them. That has been a much more effective tool.
In terms of internal opposition, it has been easier to imprison & release them. Sometimes these arrests can be as short as just a few days, but usually it has been effective. This might surprise you, but torture is rarely, if ever, used for political prisoners.
I'm not saying this is due to the goodness of our government's hearts, but I just think that after many experiences, they have learned how to be more effective. That's why in comparison to the regional countries, Iran's handling of the protests 6 years ago caused one of the least deaths. And how many martyrs did they create from that incident? None.
This was a long post, but I hope I shed some light into Iran, and my own personal opinion why Saudi's decision wasn't wise.
